Bursa Malaysia closed the morning trading session on a positive note boosted by continued buying interest in certain major stocks.
At 12.30 this afternoon, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.75 points to 1,539.54 from 1,535.79 at yesterday's close.
During the session, the benchmark index which started 3.33 points higher at 1,539.12 and now moves around 1,534.66 to 1,540.81.
Market sentiment was broadly positive with gainers outnumbering losers at 518 versus 430 and 407 counters unchanged.
The total turnover was 2.32 billion units worth RM1.42 billion.
Melaka Securities Research believes that buying interest may overflow towards stocks in the local market as sentiment remains positive.
The firm believes traders will revisit the plantation sector when crude palm oil rises above RM4,300.
Other sectors that may be scrutinized by investors including consumers are such as solar, telecommunications companies, packaging as well as beneficiaries of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (KL-SG HSR) such as construction and real estate.
Meanwhile, Top Glove Corp Bhd lost four sen to 82 sen and Velesto Energy Bhd lost half a sen to 28.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index improved by 42.61 points to 11,527.57, the FBMT 100 Index increased by 38.33 points to 11,177.2 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased by 57.98 points to 11,620.0.
The FBM ACE Index strengthened by 22.96 points to 4,795.97 and the FBM 70 Index jumped by 100.27 points to 15,906.42.
In terms of sectors, the Plantation Index rose 11.82 points to 7,306.55, the Energy Index rose 2.19 points to 938.86, the Industrial Products and Services Index rose 2.11 points to 179.35, and the Financial Services Index strengthened 22.90 points to 17,147.
