KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 — Bursa Malaysia ended slightly higher at midday today with buying interest seen in trade/service counters such as Genting, Genting Malaysia and Sime Darby, dealers said.

At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,649.04, up 0.80 of-a-point from last Friday’s close of 1,648.24, after moving between 1,643.07 and 1,649.43 throughout the session.

The index opened 4.79 points lower at 1,643.45.

Genting increased 14 sen to RM7.94, Genting Malaysia rose seven sen to RM4.73, while Sime Darby bagged five sen to RM8.27.

The gainers included Tahps, KL Kepong, Pos Malaysia and Amtel with each rising 20 sen, 14 sen, nine sen and seven sen respectively to RM7.00, RM23.98, RM4.04 and 68 sen.

The actives included NETX which added half-a-sen to 2.5 sen, RGB International gaining 1.5 sen to 23.5 sen, AirAsia X increasing one sen to 44 sen and Metronic Global falling half-a-sen to 8.5 sen.

A dealer said the better performance of the local market was in line with most regional peers as confidence veered towards the higher possibility of Hillary Clinton being picked the new President of the United States.

"Clinton is seen as a candidate of the status quo and her policies are viewed as more predictable than her Republican rival, Donald Trump,” the dealer added.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.26 per cent to 3,133.56, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.46 per cent to 23,746.47, Singapore’s Straits Times increased 0.54 per cent to 2,804.40, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 1.35 per cent higher at 17,133.69.

Meanwhile, Alliance DBS Research expects the FBM KLCI to trade above the 1,651.32 level.

The FBM Emas Index fell 0.02 of-a-point to 11,607.70, the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 16.42 points to 12,215.54, while the FBMT100 Index increased 0.57 of-a-point to 11,316.37.

The FBM 70 slid 17.14 points to 13,469.03, as the FBM Ace declined 22.37 points to 4,956.03.

On a sectoral basis, the Finance Index gained 11.59 points to 14,271.09, the Industrial Index eased 6.46 points to 3,138.58, with the Plantation Index 11.29 points higher at 7,788.72.

Market breadth was still negative with decliners leading advancers 364 to 277, while 302 counters were unchanged, 727 untraded and 18 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 783.96 million shares worth RM589.96 million.

Of the other heavyweights, TNB gained two sen to RM14.32, Public Bank was flat at RM19.80, Petronas Chemicals declined one sen to RM6.95, as IHH Healthcare decreased three sen to RM6.35 and Maxis slid nine sen to RM5.76. — Bernama