KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 ― Bursa Malaysia stayed in positive territory at mid-afternoon as its key index rose by 0.70 per cent, backed by persistent buying in banking stocks.
The Financial Services Index increased 1.34 per cent, with most banking stocks trading higher.
CIMB bagged 12 sen to RM4,57, Public Bank and RHB rose five sen each to RM4.25 and RM5.46 respectively, HLB soared 38 sen to RM18.92, HLFG expanded 50 sen to RM18.36, and Maybank improved four sen to RM8.21.
At 3.05pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) strengthened 10.86 points to 1,589.31 from Friday's close of 1,578.45.
The index opened 2.99 points higher at 1,581.44.
Market breadth was positive with gainers edging past losers 535 to 528, while 396 counters were unchanged, 681 untraded and 21 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 4.63 billion units worth RM2.75 billion.
Meanwhile, healthcare counters continued on their downtrend amid the declining demand outlook as global economies recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hartalega lost 15 sen to RM8.42 while Top Glove and Supermax fell nine sen each to RM4.8 and RM3.83, respectively.
Bursa Malaysia's top active stock, Serba Dinamik, resumed its decline by another 10 sen to 66.5 sen on investor concerns over issues raised by its auditors.
Among the heavyweights, PetChem increased four sen to RM8,12, TNB earned five sen to RM9.98 and IHH Healthcare improved 12 sen to RM5.42.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 83.91 points stronger at 11,601.71, the FBMT 100 Index increased 83.0 points to 11,288.58, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 36.32 points to 12,764.62, the FBM ACE decreased 96.57 points to 7,703.73, and the FBM 70 added 133.65 points to 15,073.56.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index expanded 203.25 points to 15,347.93, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.90 of-a-point to 194.28, and the Plantation Index rose 47.77 points to 6,817.57. ― Bernama
