KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 — Bursa Malaysia extended gains at midday on Tuesday, tracking firmer regional markets as sentiment improved on continued buying in selected heavyweights, led by financial stocks. 

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 11.67 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 1,692.19 from Monday’s close of 1,680.52. The benchmark index opened 10.44 points higher at 1,690.96 and traded between 1,686.06 and 1,692.81 during the morning session. 

Market breadth was positive, with gainers outpacing losers 576 to 391. A total of 491 counters were unchanged, 1,258 untraded and 12 suspended. 

Turnover stood at 1.63 billion units, valued at RM1.28 billion. Regionally, Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.57 per cent to 5,012.65 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.43 per cent to 25,770.40, Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.50 per cent to 57,916.42, and South Korea’s KOSPI rose 3.59 per cent to 6,017.08. 

Apex Securities Bhd said the Malaysian market is expected to trade defensively, with investors closely watching developments surrounding reported US naval activity near Iran, the Strait of Hormuz and Israel-Lebanon tensions for signs of escalation. 

In a note on Tuesday, the brokerage said Brent crude oil settled up 4.37 per cent at US$99.36 (RM393)  per barrel as fears of a prolonged conflict continued to weigh on energy markets. 

Among heavyweights, Maybank gained 14 sen to RM11.12, Public Bank rose six sen to RM4.66, Tenaga Nasional added 10 sen to RM14.28, CIMB climbed 15 sen to RM7.54, and IHH Healthcare advanced four sen to RM8.75. 

On the most active list, Velesto Energy slipped 1.5 sen to 33 sen, while MMAG and Bumi Armada were unchanged at four sen and 40 sen, respectively. 

Zetrix AI gained one sen to 77 sen, and VS Industry edged up half-a-sen to 18.5 sen. 

Among top gainers, Fraser & Neave jumped 72 sen to RM29.90, Malaysian Pacific Industries rose 56 sen to RM30.46, Ajinomoto gained 36 sen to RM12.50, Pentamaster added 30 sen to RM3.40, and UMS Integrated climbed 29 sen to RM5.50. Top losers included Petronas Dagangan, which fell 64 sen to RM20.66, Chin Teck Plantations, down 36 sen to RM10.62, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, which slid 24 sen to RM21.60, and PPB and BLD Plantation, which each lost 20 sen to RM11.76 and RM14.80, respectively. 

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index rose 87.38 points to 12,266.45, the FBM Emas Index added 86.27 points to 12,419.54, the FBM Mid 70 Index climbed 135.39 points to 17,332.24, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 44.90 points to 12,311.96, and the FBM ACE Index advanced 51.04 points to 4,461.95. 

By sector, the Financial Services Index surged 240.40 points to 19,739.29, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.41 of-a-point to 187.59, while the Plantation Index fell 36.10 points to 8,932.79 and the Energy Index shed 8.58 points to 823.12. — Bernama