KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 — Bursa Malaysia remained higher at mid-morning, in tandem with the better performance of regional peers following an overnight rally in crude oil prices which helped boost investor appetite.

At 11.00am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,659.24, up 3.95 points, against Thursday’s close of 1,655.29, bolstered by interest in penny stocks.

The index opened 0.05 point marginally lower at 1,655.24.

Gainers outpaced losers 284 to 232 while 316 counters were unchanged, 854 untraded and 19 others were suspended.

Turnover stood at 795.81 million shares worth RM386.35 million.

US crude oil prices settled 2.7 per cent higher at US$41.93 a barrel, a day after surging more than three per cent amid a drawdown in gasoline inventories while International Brent crude was up 2.67 per cent at US$44.25 a barrel.

Kenanga Research said there were still lingering jitteriness among investors amid volatile crude oil prices and the ringgit’s immediate direction.     

"Despite benchmark index’s climb yesterday, there is no excitement in major momentum indicators to suggest any signs of increased buying momentum, further indicating that yesterday’s lift could be short-lived.

"With the lack of positive catalyst and sluggish oil prices to inspire the domestic market, we still expect the benchmark index to close the week on a tepid note towards the 1,650 or 1,643 levels,” it said.

Among heavyweights, Maybank added four sen to RM7.97 while IHH Healthcare and Petronas Chemicals each accumulated three sen to RM6.52 and RM6.59, respectively.

However, Public Bank shed six sen to RM19.54 and TNB was unchanged at RM14.40. 

The FBM Emas Index increased 21.19 points to 11,643, the FBMT100 Index added 22.12 points to 11,343.17 and the FBM Ace gained 15.60 points to 5,423.68.  

The FBM 70 edged up 8.21 points to 13,344.06 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index rose 24.11 points to 12,259.85.

Sector-wise, the Finance Index accumulated 39.51 points to 14,218.97, the Industrial Index gained 10.75 points to 3,120.30 and the Plantation Index was 49.58 points higher at 7,609.16.

Among gainers, Lay Hong increased 24 sen to RM9.74, Batu Kawan perked 20 sen to RM17.96, Mesiniaga recovered 16 sen to RM1.26, Sam Engineering & Equipment firmed 14 sen to RM7.68 and Hong Leong Industries was 12 sen higher at RM9.40. — Bernama