KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — Construction counters jumped 2.11 per cent as of midday today as shares related to construction companies overtake healthcare which has seen a rally on Bursa Malaysia since last week.

At the lunch break, there were 258 gainers and 449 losers, while 431 counters were unchanged, 649 untraded and 16 others suspended.

Total volume stood at 7.48 billion units worth RM3.52 billion.

As for the main index; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) ended 10.49 points higher to 1,597.43 from yesterday's close of 1,586.98.

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The world’s largest glove maker, Top Glove gained 56 sen to RM25.26 which Hartalega was up 20 sen to RM17.58, pushing the composite index up 4.42 points.

Construction company, TCS Group which made its debut on Bursa’s ACE Market today climbed 27 sen from the offer price of 23 sen, while Gamuda gained 17 sen to RM3.57.

The upswing in the construction counters could be related to the government’s announcement that it would not revert the project delivery partner structure for the Pan Borneo Highway project as well as the Melaka state government decision of a new site for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail station in the state.

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“This indicates that major construction projects by the government will continue despite concerns due to the change in administration previously,” said an equity analyst.

Of the actives, Bioalpha was up 9.5 sen to 27.5 sen and Boustead shed 1.5 sen to 75.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 46.18 points to 11,306.47, the FBMT 100 Index appreciated 44.03 points to 11,144.71 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 75.35 points stronger at 13,136.89.

The FBM 70 inched up 60.84 points to 14,217.92 and the FBM ACE slipped 0.62 of-a-point at 7,673.42.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index edged up 6.24 points to 13,440.95, the Plantation Index strengthened 32.37 points to 7,064.76 and the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.58 of-a-point to 140.45. — Bernama