KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 — Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session higher, in line with most regional markets, with investors continuing to buy selected heavyweight stocks, led by utility counters.

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 4.62 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 1,611.58 from Tuesday’s close of 1,606.96.

The index opened marginally higher at 1,606.97 and moved between 1,606.53 and 1,615.15 during the morning session.

The market breadth was positive, with gainers thumping decliners 608 to 357 with 521 counters unchanged, 925 untraded, and 10 suspended.

Turnover reached 2.27 billion units, valued at RM1.55 billion.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said it expects the upward momentum to sustain with the start of the window-dressing period as the earnings season concludes. "With higher crude oil prices and strong earnings from plantation stocks, we foresee trading opportunities in the plantation sector. We anticipate that the US dollar could strengthen further following the robust jobs data, which may benefit export-oriented stocks, such as technology and gloves,” it said in a note.

Meanwhile, an analyst reckons that buying sentiment in the local market appeared to have improved following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's announcement that the government will continue to balance efforts to strengthen the fiscal position while supporting the country's economic growth momentum.

Anwar, when presenting the Supply Bill 2025 for its second reading in the Dewan Negara today, said that next year, the reform agenda will be implemented even more aggressively with the country's economy expected to grow strongly between 4.5 and 5.5 per cent.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank, Public Bank and IHH were flat at RM10.18, RM4.51 and RM7.22, respectively. CIMB eased one sen to RM8.20 while Tenaga Nasional surged 22 sen to RM13.60.

Among active counters, Zen Tech and JCY International held steady at one sen and 48.5 sen, respectively. Top Glove firmed up six sen to RM1.23, Cape EMS inched up half-a-sen to 38 sen and Reservoir Link bagged three sen to 37 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 74.41 points to 12,306.62, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 70.05 points to 11,991.04 and the FBM 70 Index surged 237.06 points to 18,255.48.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 108.89 points to 12,308.92, while the FBM ACE Index increased 40.93 points to 5,230.57.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index strengthened 24.32 points to 19,115.52 while the Plantation Index gained 5.49 points to 7,740.50. The Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.25 points to 176.07 and the Energy Index gained 12.32 points to 813.87. — Bernama