KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — Share prices on Bursa Malaysia were traded broadly higher at mid-morning today, bolstered by gains in bluechips and key heavyweights, dealers said.
At 11.03 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.38 points to 1,773.5, after fluctuating between 1,774.71 and 1,768.64.
Hong Leong Bank, the largest contributor to the rise with 1.22 points, saw its share soar 2.61 per cent or 36 sen to RM14.18, with 21,300 lots changing hands.
A dealer said growing optimism over the stalemate in Washington, and news of President Barack Obama’s nomination of Janet Yellen to succeed Ben Bernanke as the next chief at the Federal Reserve, helped boost regional market sentiment.
On the scoreboard, the Finance Index rose 54.22 points to 16,529.06, the Industrial Index gained 4.24 points to 3,035.51, and the Plantation Index added 3.8 points to 8,351.01.
The FBM Emas Index was up 26.52 points to 12,343.58, the FBM100 Index improved 25.02 points to 12,079.75, the FBM 70 increased 9.47 points to 14,104.44, and the FBM Ace earned 18.86 points to 5,409.06.
Gainers outnumbered losers 299 to 185, with 262 counters unchanged, 865 untraded and 16 others suspended.
Volume stood at 748.545 million shares worth RM377.861 million.
Among actives, The Media Shoppe, MAS, Hubline and Talam Transform all gained half-a-sen each to 10.5 sen, 34 sen, 5.5 sen and six sen, respectively.
Of the heavyweights, Maybank rose three sen to RM9.88, Petronas Chemicals soared four sen to RM6.93, while Axiata Group, Sime Darby and CIMB all added one sen each to RM6.91, RM9.45 and RM7.41, respectively. — Bernama
