KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 ― Bursa Malaysia maintained its positive tone at mid-afternoon, supported by buying in plantation stocks, led by Sime Darby Plantation Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KL Kepong) and IOI Corporation Bhd (IOI).
Sime Darby advanced by 17 sen to RM4.43, KL Kepong soared by 66 sen to RM21.56 and IOI rose by six sen to RM3.88.
Altogether, these stocks pushed the composite index up by a combined 3.786 points.
At 3.05pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose by 4.91 points to 1,493.71 from yesterday's closing of 1,488.80.
The market bellwether opened two points better at 1,490.80.
Market breadth was positive with gainers surpassing losers 639 to 360, while 367 counters were unchanged, 867 untraded and 14 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.79 billion units valued at RM1.86 billion.
Among the heavyweights, Maybank gained one sen to RM8.64 and Petronas Chemicals added five sen to RM8.59, while Public Bank and CIMB were flat at RM4.50 and RM5.80, respectively, and Tenaga fell seven sen to RM9.35.
Of the actives, Infomina added 25.5 sen to 83.5 sen, Leform gained three sen to 21.5 sen, Green Packet ticked up 1.5 sen to seven sen and MY E.G perked six sen to 94.5 sen, while Advance Synergy fell 1.5 sen to 14.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index increased by 72.44 points to 10,706.14, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 66.20 points to 10,418.46, the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 110.17 points to 10,893.26, the FBM 70 expanded 210.39 points to 13,061.48, and the FBM ACE garnered 41.52 points to 5,252.67.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index advanced by 15.74 points to 16,663.08, the Plantation Index lifted 131.16 points to 6,858.93 and the Energy Index gained 10.07 points to 777.58, while the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.81 of-a-point to 182.57. ― Bernama
