KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — The composite index FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) extended earlier gains to close the morning session higher, spurred by buying interest seen in key heavyweights and plantation-related stocks, dealers said.
At midday, the FBM KLCI rose 8.84 points to close at 1,842.71, after fluctuating between 1,831.1 and 1,843.48.
Petronas Gas, the largest contributor to the index with 2.502 points, saw its share soared 70 sen to RM23.30. This followed by TNB, with 1.019 points, which gained 10 sen to RM11.10.
Among the plantation stocks that attractive in early session were Genting Plantation which expanding 12 sen to RM11.20, KLK soared 20 sen to RM24.70, PPB Group rose 16 sen to RM15.46, while IOI Corp rose six sen to RM5.83.
On the scoreboard, the Plantation Index chalked up 54.88 points to 9,036.24, the Finance Index increased 9.05 points to 16,850.39 and the Industrial Index earned 23.36 points to 3,119.79.
The FBM Emas Index rose 46.12 points to 12,714.4 and the FBMT100 Index advanced 44.97 points to 12,444.13 However, the FBM Ace fell 15.66 points to 5,622, and the FBM 70 erased 9.96 points to 14,090.57.
Gainers led losers 317 to 304, with 281 counters unchanged, 660 untraded and 21 others suspended.
Turnover totalled 661.77 million shares worth RM724.033 million.
Among actives, Tiger Synergy inched up half-a-sen to 23.5 sen, while Sanichi shed half-a-sen to 8.5 sen.
Of the heavyweights, CIMB added three sen to RM7.72, Sime Darby added one sen to RM9.58, while both Maybank and Axiata Group were flat at RM10.02 and RM6.73, respectively. — Bernama
