KUALA LUMPUR, March 23  — Bursa Malaysia traded firmer at mid-morning, gaining 0.75 per cent, taking cues from overnight gains on Wall Street, as well better market sentiment.

At 11am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 11.89 points to 1,597.70 from 1,585.81 at Tuesday’s close.

The key index opened 2.97 points better at 1,588.78.

On the broader market, gainers thumped losers 533 to 280, while 382 counters were unchanged, 1,108 untraded and 14 others suspended.

Total turnover stood at 1.55 billion worth RM895.65 million.

In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said market sentiment would remain positive on the local front, as investors were brushing off concerns over the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policies and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while focusing on economic growth at least for the near term.

"Besides, the declining trend noticed in new Covid-19 cases may bode for the recovery theme,” it said.

Commodity-wise, crude oil price was trading around the US$115 per barrel mark, while crude palm oil hovering around RM6,000 per tonne.

As for sectors in focus, it said the technology sector would continue to trend higher following the overnight gains in Nasdaq.

Meanwhile, the brokerage firm remains optimistic on plantation stocks, given the elevated CPO price.

"We expect the airport and aviation sector may stay positive bias following the reopening of travel borders, while the construction sector might be favourable ahead of the anticipated general election going forward.”

Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia heavyweights Maybank added eight sen to RM8.91, PBBank was one sen higher at RM4.63, IHH gained five sen to RM6.56, while PChem and Axiata lost one sen each to RM9.57 and RM3.79, respectively.

Of the actives, CSH added half-a-sen to 16.5 sen, SapNRG and Fitters both erased half-a-sen to three sen and 16.5 sen, while DNex was unchanged at RM1.03, and Pasukhas and AT were both flat at two sen.

On the index board, FBM 70 gained 158.50 points to 13,695.59, FBM Emas Index was 94.50 points better at 11,396.78, FBM Emas Shariah Index accumulated 107.68 points to 12,021.85, FBMT 100 Index perked up 93.17 points to 11,091.51, while FBM ACE went up 111.0 points to 5,546.41.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.88 points to 203.69, the Financial Services Index rose 122.91 points to 16,708.88, while the Plantation Index declined 15.80 points to 8,037.53. — Bernama