KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session on a strong note, with the key index rising 1.82 per cent as banking heavyweights continued gains.

Amidst a mixed regional trend, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 30.16 points to 1,684.55, after moving between 1,660.49 and 1,689.77 throughout the morning trading session.

Banking counters Public Bank soared RM1.90 to RM22.10, Maybank bagged 44 sen to RM8.82, CIMB gained 13 sen to RM4.41, Hong Leong went up 60 sen to RM19.50, Hong Leong Financial advanced 68 sen to RM18.68, and RHB increased 10 sen to RM5.95.

Hefty gains by banking heavyweights helped push the Financial Services Index stronger by 773.67 points to 16,092.71.

On the broader market, gainers and losers were almost equal at 594 versus 597, while 500 counters were unchanged, 2,137 untraded and 19 others suspended.

Volume stood at 6.04 billion units worth RM3.31billion.

Among the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals increased 20 sen to RM7.86, Tenaga fell eight sen to RM10.42, Top Glove shed five sen to RM6.94, and Hartalega lost 38 sen to RM13.98.

Among the actives, Bumi Armada perked three sen to 39 sen, Sino Hua-An trimmed 1.5 sen to 13.5 sen, Sapura Energy added one sen to 13.5 sen, Nexgram inched up half-a-sen to 5.5 sen, and Iris gained two sen to 38.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 167.93 points higher at 12,090.8, the FBMT 100 Index soared 169.99 points to 11,852.9, the FBM 70 increased 54.77 points to 15,392.6 and the FBM ACE chalked up 80.18 points to 11,120.09.

The FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 46.47 points to 13,434.52.

Meanwhile, the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.84 of-a-point to 177.22 and the Plantation Index advanced 21.7 points to 7,376.71. ― Bernama