KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 ― Bursa Malaysia continued to trade higher at midafternoon supported by buying activities in selected heavyweights mainly in the utilities sector and also in tandem with the positive sentiment in most regional markets.
YTL Power International increased 24 sen to RM3.61, YTL Corporation added 10 sen to RM2.34. Both stocks pulled the composite index up by a combined 5.04 points.
At 3pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) inched up 0.78 of-a-point to 1,483.78 from yesterday's close of 1,483.00.
The benchmark index opened 0.24 of-a-point firmer at 1,483.24.
Nonetheless, on the broader market, decliners trounced gainers 478 to 402, while 427 counters were unchanged, 912 untraded and 29 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.57 billion units worth RM1.63 billion.
Among other heavyweights, Maybank added two sen to RM9.02, Petronas Chemicals gained three sen to RM6.91, while Tenaga Nasional lost 22 sen to RM10.22 and Sime Darby Plantation slid 10 sen to RM4.32.
Of the actives, Ekovest perked six sen to 60.5 sen, Sarawak Consolidated recovered four sen to RM1.16, Minetech Resources was down by two sen at 20 sen, while Hong Seng Consolidated and Widad were flat at two sen and 49 sen respectively.
On the index board, the FBM 70 Index advanced 37.93 points to 15,152.40, the FBM Emas Index expanded 12.86 points to 11,096.02, the FBMT 100 Index strengthened 11.13 points to 10,740.65, but the FBM Emas Shariah Index shed 7.92 points to 11,229.43 and the FBM ACE Index fell 13.86 points to 5,400.76.
Sector-wise, the Energy Index added 6.09 points to 868.71, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased slightly by 0.29 of-a-point to 175.32, the Property Index was 5.68 points better at 893.82, while the Financial Services Index shaved off 7.68 points to 16,528.97, and the Plantation Index shrank 24.50 points to 7,106.12. ― Bernama
