KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session on a positive note as the main index stayed above the 1,500 level, driven by significant buying activity in heavyweight stocks particularly YTL Corporation Bhd and YTL Power International Bhd.
At 12:30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 3.93 points to 1,508.03 from the closing figure of 1,504.1 on Wednesday.
The barometer index, starting 0.65 points lower at 1,503.45, fluctuated between 1,502.89 and 1,508.94 throughout the session.
The market displayed positive breadth, with gainers outnumbering losers at 557 to 398, and 417 counters remaining unchanged.
Additionally, there were 925 untraded stocks and 49 others suspended. The total turnover amounted to 2.85 billion units valued at RM1.71 billion.
YTL rose of six sen or 2.53 per cent, reaching RM2.43, while YTL Power International gained seven sen to RM3.98.
These two stocks contributed 2.03 points to the composite index's gains.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the FBM KLCI surged for the fourth session and once again crossed and closed above the 1,500 psychological level.
"We believe the market will be focusing on corporate earnings and next week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
"On the commodity markets, Brent oil headed above US$80 per barrel (/bbl) mark as environmental impact assessment (EIA) indicated that the US inventories were declining," it said in a statement.
Malacca Securities said the general sentiment in the local market is likely to remain optimistic, aligning with the Hang Seng Index surging beyond the 16,000 level.
This follows the news of China increasing stimulus efforts and the People's Bank of China announcing measures to ease policies.
