KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 14 ― Bursa Malaysia continued its uptrend at midday, supported by buying in heavyweight stocks.
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) bagged 7.95 points to 1,453.13 compared to last Friday’s closing of 1,445.18.
The index opened 0.28 of-a-point easier at 1,444.90.
On the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 430 to 392, while 415 counters were unchanged, 1,142 untraded and nine others suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.88 billion units valued at RM871.43 million.
A trader said upbeat earnings forecasts boosted investors’ risk appetites despite cautious trading in regional markets ahead of the release of the United States (US) inflation figures which would provide clues on the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate direction.
At the same time, investors are also weighing the possibility of a US government shutdown.
At midday, Bursa heavyweights Public Bank rose four sen to RM4.20, Genting jumped 15 sen to RM4.30, Petronas Chemicals and Maxis were up seven sen to RM7.26 and RM4.10, respectively, and Maybank and CelcomDigi increased four sen to RM9.12 and RM4.29, respectively.
Of the actives, Hong Seng and Widad added half-a-sen sen to 5.0 sen and 46 sen, respectively, while Fitters was flat at 5.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 50.50 points higher at 10,741.97, the FBMT 100 Index went up 50.80 points to 10,404.39, the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 47.79 points to 10,944.96, the FBM 70 Index gained 42.56 points to 14,204.49 and the FBM ACE Index rose 12.60 points to 5,145.25.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased by 56.50 points to 16,352.57, the Plantation Index was up 36.93 points to 6,959.22, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 0.66 of-a-point to 173.06, and the Energy Index advanced 1.37 points to 860.71. ― Bernama
