KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 — Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session higher on stronger buying, lifted by gains in financial stocks as well as lower liners and broader market shares, dealers said.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 0.3 per cent or 5.52 points better at 1,627.59 from Friday's close of 1,622.07.
After opening 0.49 of-a-point firmer at 1,622.56, the local index ranged between 1,622.56 and 1,630.91 throughout the session.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 534 to 258, while 330 counters were unchanged, 792 untraded and 31 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.56 billion shares worth RM1.71 billion.
Market sentiment was positive following the revival of infrastructure projects by the government, namely the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and Bandar Malaysia.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd in a note said it believed the touted RM150 billion Bandar Malaysia mega project should play its part in reviving the ailing domestic economy and also much needed foreign capital inflows.
“This project will certainly have a significant impact on Malaysia’s economy as it would serve as a global hub to further attract high impact global finance, technology and entrepreneurial firms,” said the research firm.
Among heavyweights, Maybank rose seven sen to RM9.16, Public Bank was up by two sen to RM22.54, Tenaga soared eight sen to RM12.22, while Petronas Chemicals was flat at RM8.95 and IHH fell one sen to RM5.55.
Of the actively-traded stocks,
For the top gainers, Tasek improved 54 sen to RM5.69, Lafarge rose 38 sen to RM2.17 and DWL recovered 38 sen to RM1.69.
The FBM Emas Index expanded 83.68 points to 11,5800.92, the FBMT 100 Index was 72.92 points better at 11,397.80 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index jumped 100.36 points to 11,79038.
The FBM 70 surged 231.37 points to 14,613.88, but the FBM Ace was lower by 10.70 points to 4,682.15.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index advanced 77.57 points to 16,822.83, the Plantation Index eased 10.00 points to 7,218.91 and the Industrial Products & Services Index was 0.83 of-a-point higher at 169.13. — Bernama
