KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session on a strong note with the key index surging over one per cent on persistent bargain-hunting.

Meanwhile, semiconductor stocks were in the limelight again as companies in the sector were seen dominating the top gainers list across the board.

At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) jumped 16.19 points, or 1.04 per cent, to 1,573.74 from 1,557.55 at yesterday’s close.

The key index opened 9.35 points firmer at 1,566.90 and moved between 1,565.77 and 1,574.58 throughout the morning trade.

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Market breadth remained positive with gainers outpacing losers 673 to 403, while 431 counters were unchanged, 691 untraded and 71 others suspended.

Total volume stood at 6.20 billion units worth RM3.23 billion.

Of the 30 FBM KLCI counters, over two-thirds were in the positive territory, with gains led by Press Metal Aluminium after the company posted a firm net profit of RM142.6 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020 on the back of higher aluminium prices.

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Press Metal ended the morning session 77 sen higher at RM9.72, followed by Maybank which strengthened 10 sen to RM7.99.

Tenaga increased 20 sen to RM10.10, while CIMB and Petronas Chemicals bagged 10 sen each to RM4.31 and RM7.77, respectively.

Top gainers list was dominated by semiconductor counters led by MPI, which surged RM2.84 to RM37.90.

Vitrox leaped 82 sen to RM18.02, D&O Green Technologies climbed 54 sen to RM3.87, Unisem was 44 sen firmer at RM9.04, Frontken rose 38 sen to RM5.68 and Inari increased 36 sen to RM3.64.

Active counters included Permaju Industries which perked 3.5 sen to 18.5 sen. Dagang NeXchange warrants inched up 2.5 sen to 34.5 sen, Metronic Global slipped two sen to 8.5 sen, while XOX and Key Alliance shed half-a-sen each to nine sen and five sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index gained 141.02 points to 11,624.14, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 132.59 points to 11,306.85, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 173.13 points better at 13,045.22.

The FBM 70 soared 245.30 points to 15,596.76 and the FBM ACE climbed 61.26 points to 10,882.35.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased 157.60 points to 14,871.35, the Industrial Products and Services Index ticked up 5.58 points to 187.07 and the Plantation Index improved 50.48 points to 7,211.18.

The Technology Index rose 4.42 points to 90.56. ― Bernama