KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 ― The benchmark index on Bursa Malaysia remained in positive territory at mid-morning, driven by continued buying interest in selected heavyweights, amid cautious sentiment in the regional markets, dealers said.

At 11am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 4.50 points to 1,523.28 from 1,518.78 at yesterday's close.

On the broader market however, losers led gainers 344 to 306, while 362 counters were unchanged, 1,267 untraded and six others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.18 billion units valued at RM642.36 million.

ActiveTrades trader Anderson Alves said Asian equities were choppy on Wednesday following light trading on Wall Street.

"Current price action in equities imply that tail risks for inflation have diminished after the last US Consumer Price Index release. The data was softer than expected, prompting investors to start picking on the US Federal Reserve (Fed) hawkishness as the prospect of a soft landing for the economy is now more likely.

"Also, expectations of economic growth in China and the US will likely remain key to gauging recession fears. China's zero-Covid policy is still an important headwind for global growth. It is worth noting that Chinese ambassador (to the US) Qin Gang said that China will continue to carry out its dynamic zero-Covid policy,” he said in a note today.

Back home, heavyweights Maybank advanced 2.0 sen to RM8.99, Petronas Chemicals went up 7.0 sen to RM8.82, IHH Healthcare added 3.0 sen to RM6.52 while Public Bank was flat at RM4.65 and CIMB slipped 1.0 sen to RM5.44.

Of the actives, Pegasus Heights rose 1.0 sen to 1.5 sen, while Metronic Global, TWL Holdings and Green Packet were flat at 5.0 sen, 6.0 sen and 5.5 sen respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 20.83 points better at 10,770.36, the FBMT 100 Index gained 19.67 points to 10,517.83, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 36.03 points to 10,937.94, while the FBM 70 shed 22.23 points to 12,758.60 and the FBM ACE declined 48.54 points to 4,919.74.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index improved 1.98 points to 16,813.32, the Plantation Index climbed 27.88 points to 7,286.60, the Industrial Products and Services Index earned 0.26 of-a-point to 184.14 and the Energy Index fell 3.87 points to 653.64. ― Bernama