KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session in positive territory on continued buying in selected heavyweights, especially finance-related counters, a dealer said.

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.61 points to 1,840.65 against yesterday's close of 1,837.04, after opening 0.49 of-a-point lower at 1,836.55.

Market breadth, was however negative, as losers led gainers 426 to 408, with 386 counters unchanged, 649 untraded and 31 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.72 billion shares worth RM1.21 billion.

A dealer said there was cautious trading among investors ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia's Monetary Policy Committee meeting scheduled for 3pm today.

"Some people are expecting to see the central bank increase by 25 basis points the overnight policy rate (OPR) rate to 3.25 per cent in the belief that the Malaysian economy is improving. However, there are some who feel BNM will maintain it,” the dealer said.

Yesterday, the Department of Statistics released Malaysia’s consumer price index, which measures headline inflation. It rose by 3.5 per cent to 120.9 in December 2017 from 116.8 in the corresponding month of the preceding year, mainly due to transport, food and beverages.

Kenanga Research in its note today said the high inflation that came with solid economic growth momentum in 2017 and an increasing hawkish stance from major central banks, are key factors raising its expectations for a rate hike decision today.

"However, it may not be a major surprise if BNM decides to defer or keep the status quo as uncertainty looms ahead of the upcoming General Elections. Plus, capital inflows, largely hot money, has been strong lately,” it added.

Among heavyweights, Maybank rose seven sen to RM9.98, Public Bank advanced 14 sen to RM21.10, as Tenaga and Petronas Chemicals lost two sen and one sen each to RM15.82 and RM7.99 respectively.

Of the actives, PA Resources and UMW Oil & Gas added half-a-sen each  to 12 sen and 34 sen,Sapura Energy gained two sen to 81 sen and Daya Materials was flat at nine sen.

The FBM Emas Index rose 17.83 points to 13,303.62, the FBMT100 Index gained 19.83 points to 12,970.69 and the FBM 70 inched up 6.691 points to 16,703.81.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index slid 3.24 points to 13,688.66, and the FBM Ace lost 23.99 points to 6,692.12.

Sector-wise, the Finance Index improved 74.95 points to 17,467.84 and the Industrial Index gained 3.46 points to 3,359.14.But, the Plantation Index eased 0.51 of-a-point to 8,055.65. ― Bernama