KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 ― Bursa Malaysia returned to positive territory at mid-afternoon on the back of buying interest in selected heavyweight stocks, in tandem with the positive movement in regional markets, said a dealer.

At 3pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.64 points to 1,497.86 from yesterday’s close of 1,496.22.

The market bellwether opened 0.66 point better at 1,496.88.

Market breadth was positive with advancers surpassing decliners 394 to 336, while 374 counters were unchanged, 1,088 untraded, and 10 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 1.54 billion units worth RM922.89 million.

Among the heavyweights, CIMB grew 5.0 sen to RM5.74, Maxis advanced 8.0 sen to RM4.06 and Sime Darby Plantation added 9.0 sen to RM4.45. Inari Amertron pushed up 4.0 sen to RM2.65 and Hong Leong expanded 12 sen to RM20.82.

Of the actives, TT Vision climbed 10 sen to RM1.30, Ta Win Holdings and Progressive Impact Corporation were both flat at 60 sen and 26 sen, respectively. Reach Energy fell half-a-sen to 5.5 sen and Velesto Energy retreated half-a-sen to 20 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was higher by 15.87 points to 10,828.57, the FBMT 100 Index edged up 16.36 points to 10,520.63 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index earned 11.77 points to 11,078.69.

The FBM 70 Index garnered 42.01 points to 13,507.99 and the FBM ACE Index increased 62.43 points to 5,511.43.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index went up 31.76 points to 16,513.77, the Industrial Products and Services Index expanded 0.11 point to 187.95 and the Plantation Index climbed up 46.46 points to 6,872.04. The Energy Index widened by 2.53 points to 842.50. ― Bernama