KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 — Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session higher today, boosted by brisk buying momentum and in line with regional markets.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) jumped 28.37 points or 1.89 per cent to 1,527.2 from Monday’s close of 1,498.83.

The index opened 20.09 points higher at 1,518.92 and hovered between 1,517.47 and 1,528.76 throughout the early trading session.

On the broader market, gainers eclipsed losers 883 to 147, while 235 counters were unchanged, 651 untraded and 19 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 4.40 billion units worth RM2.12 billion.

Regional markets were in the positive territory in line with Wall Street’s better overnight performance following the United States Federal Reserve’s announcement of its corporate bond purchasing programme that boosted investors’ confidence, which had been affected by the spike in Covid-19 cases.

Regionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 2.95 per cent to 24,478.64, Singapore’s Straits Times Index widened 2.52 per cent to 2,679.84 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 4.16 per cent to 22,426.29.

Meanwhile, among Bursa Malaysia’s heavyweights, Maybank bagged 12 sen to RM7.82, TNB appreciated 16 sen to RM1198, Public Bank improved 18 sen to RM16.60, Petronas Chemicals went up 10 sen to RM6.57, IHH Healthcare was nine sen higher at RM5.51 and Maxis rose 12 sen to RM5.39.

Of the most actives, AT Systematization added one sen to 14.5 sen, Barakah Offshore improved three sen to five sen, Prestarian surged 18 sen to 50.5 sen, Compugates edged up half-a-sen to two sen, while Next was flat at one sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index strengthened 222.47 points to 10,722.32, the FBMT 100 Index soared 211.83 points to 10,586.45 and the FBM 70 went up 324.68 points to 13,121.08.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index advanced 258.07 points to 12,154.62 and the FBM ACE increased 254.59 points to 5,805.5.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 4.04 points to 136.68, the Plantation Index bagged 124.38 points to 6,807.66 and the Financial Services Index advanced 182.88 points to 13,168.61. — Bernama