KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session higher, buoyed by mild buying momentum.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose by 5.12 points to 1,391.39 from yesterday's close of 1,386.27. The key index opened 6.65 points higher at 1,392.92.

On the broader market, gainers outpaced decliners 424 to 277, while 330 counters were unchanged, 1,319 untraded and seven others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.35 billion units worth RM743.86 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the rebound on Wall Street might result in buying interest spilling over onto beaten-down or oversold stocks over the near term.

“Still, the weakening trading liquidity and persistent selling by foreign funds (net selling RM870.1 million month-to-date) will keep bigger strides of gains at bay.

“The beaten-down healthcare sector appears attractive and may extend their revival, backed by the prospects of improved outlook; while the technology sector may stage a rebound to mirror the gains on Nasdaq overnight, and the stability in crude oil prices may lend some support to the energy sector,” the brokerage said in a research note today.

Among the heavyweights, IHH Healthcare jumped 10 sen to RM5.96 and Press Metal added two sen to RM4.19, while Public Bank was flat at RM4.20, Maybank shed two sen to RM8.50, Petronas Chemicals eased one sen to RM8.49, and CIMB declined four sen to RM5.26.

Of the actives, Hong Seng advanced five sen to 27 sen, Widad rose 2.5 sen to 44.5 sen and HLT Global went up 1.5 sen to 28 sen, while Careplus was flat at 41.5 sen, Top Glove slipped 1.5 sen to 72.5 sen and Supermax decreased 3.5 sen to 87 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index improved 47.68 points to 9,911.74, the FBM 70 garnered 98.48 points to 11,931.02, the FBMT 100 Index bagged 45.97 points to 9,659.80, the FBM Emas Shariah Index expanded 87.40 points to 9,940.54, and the FBM ACE improved 45.06 points to 4,726.83.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was 32.04 points easier at 15,883.86, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.31 of-a-point to 169.86, the Plantation Index climbed 75.90 points to 6,481.36, and the Energy Index gained 4.86 points to 669.90. ― Bernama