KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia stayed higher at midday lifted by buying activities in selected heavyweights mainly in the utilities sector.
YTL Power International increased 24 sen to RM3.61, YTL Corporation added nine sen to RM2.33. Both stocks pulled the composite index up by a combined 4.86 points.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged up 0.07 per cent, or one point, to 1,484.00 from Thursday's close of 1,483.00.
The FBM KLCI, which opened 0.24 of-a-point firmer at 1,483.24, moved between 1,482.02 and 1,484.74 during the morning session.
However, in the broader market, decliners surpassed gainers 446 to 367, while 438 counters were unchanged, 968 untraded and 29 suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.03 billion units worth RM1.31 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said in a note today that given the stabilised move by the United States, the brokerage firm believes that buying interest may emerge in the technology sector.
"Also, following the visit of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to Malaysia and the signing of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) agreement and Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link ceremony, we believe trading interest may increase going forward in the Johor-related companies.
"We favour the construction, property, building material, renewable energy as well as utilities sectors. Meanwhile, the oil and gas sector could stay attractive with higher capital expenditure spending from Petronas in 2024," it added.
Meanwhile, ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves said Asian equity markets are poised for a modestly positive shift today as investors look beyond a slight uptick in the United States consumer price index (CPI), which initially sparked a hawkish reaction across various asset classes.
"Intriguingly, expectations for the Federal Reserve have shifted towards a more dovish stance, with approximately 155 basis points of monetary easing anticipated by this year, a notable increase from the 144 basis points projected prior to the CPI data release," he said.
Among the other heavyweights, Maybank and Petronas Chemicals rose two sen each to RM9.02 and RM6.90, Maxis went up three sen to RM3.86, while Tenaga Nasional slid 12 sen to RM10.32 and Sime Darby Plantation lost nine sen to RM4.33.
Of the actives, Ekovest went up three sen to 57.5 sen, Leform perked one sen to 49.5 sen, Sarawak Cable was 3.5 sen higher at 34 sen, while Hong Seng Consolidated was flat at two sen.
On the index board, the FBM 70 Index recovered 18.25 points to 15,132.72, the FBM Emas Index strengthened 9.15 points to 11,092.31, the FBMT 100 Index expanded 8.72 points to 10,738.24, however, the FBM ACE Index decreased 3.70 points to 5,410.92, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index shrank 5.51 points to 11,231.84.
Sector-wise, the Energy Index garnered 5.29 points to 867.91, the Property Index widened 2.06 points to 890.20, the Industrial Products and Services Index recovered 0.28 of-a-point to 175.31, but the Plantation Index erased 23.37 points to 7,107.25, and the Financial Services Index shed 15.74 points to 16,520.91. - Bernama
