KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 ― Bursa Malaysia turned slightly higher at mid-morning, boosted by renewed buying support, tracking the uptrend momentum among regional peers.

At 11am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.46 points to 1,598.77 from yesterday’s close of 1,597.31.

The index opened 4.71 points higher at 1,602.02.

On the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 391 to 297, while 409 counters were unchanged, 1,191 untraded and 67 others suspended.

Total turnover stood at 919.37 million units worth RM555.05 million.

In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the bargain hunting activities in the United States equity market could spill over to local technology stocks.

"We also expect the digital banking license winner to be announced soon.

"As for commodities, the crude palm oil futures (FCPO) remained above RM6,900 per tonne, while crude oil is now trading above US$105 per barrel mark,” it said.

Meanwhile, Bursa heavyweights Maybank lost five sen to RM8.99, both Public Bank and CIMB slid two sen to RM4.69 and RM5.17, respectively, and IHH Healthcare went down four sen to RM6.61, while Petronas Chemicals added 18 sen to RM10.28.

Of the actives, both Techna-X and MN Holdings were flat at 12 sen and 23.5 sen, respectively, Euro increased 3.5 sen to 21 sen, Capital A gained three sen to 73.5 sen, while Anzo slipped half-a-sen to one sen.

On the index board, FBM 70 improved 50.60 points to 13,761.87, FBM Emas Index expanded 20.76 points to 11,456.24, FBMT 100 Index strengthened 17.31 points to 11,109.68, and FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 33.72 points to 12,024.26.

However, FBM ACE decreased 7.42 points to 5,578.35.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index weakened 41.78 points to 16,869.68 and the Plantation Index eased 8.13 points to 8,776.78, while the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.41 points better at 210.83. ― Bernama