Bursa Malaysia ended Friday's morning trading session higher as it was supported by continued buying in heavyweights amid positive regional performance.
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 10.65 points (0.7%) to 1,541.25 from 1,530.60 at yesterday's close.
The benchmark index opened 1.51 points higher at 1,532.11 and has now moved between 1,532.03 to 1,541.90 throughout the session.
Market sentiment was positive with gainers outnumbering losers by 455 to 410. Meanwhile, 477 counters were unchanged, 978 were not traded and 55 others were suspended.
The total volume of trade is 1.70 billion units worth RM1.14 billion.
Meanwhile, several major regional markets were also higher at midday with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index up 0.91% to 16,541.42 and Japan's Nikkei 225 Index up 0.41% to 40,334.13.
Among the heavyweights, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd rose 14 sen to RM6.69, and Tenaga Nasional Bhd rose 14 sen to RM11.38. Meanwhile, Malayan Banking Bhd increased four sen to RM9.69. Public Bank Bhd rose three sen to RM4.24 and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd dropped seven sen to RM6.72.
Among the active stocks, Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd was unchanged at one sen and Lambo Group Bhd was unchanged at three sen. Meanwhile, Southern Score Builders Bhd rose 4.5 sen to 34.5 sen. MMAG Holdings Bhd rose 1.5 sen to 19 sen and Ingenieur Gudang Bhd lost half a sen to 15.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 66.08 points to 11,592.06, the FBMT 100 Index rose 67.69 points to 11,240.23 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 43.41 points to 11,656.85. The FBM ACE index jumped 50.48 points to 4,893.21. The FBM 70 index rose 56.52 points to 16,204.67.
In terms of sectors, the Plantation Index rose 18.25 points to 7,316.81, the Financial Services Index jumped 124.06 points to 17,306.18, and the Energy Index rose 10.33 points to 953.32. The Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.09 points to 179.45.
Bursa Malaysia Bhd and its subsidiaries are closed on Thursday for Nuzul Al-Quran.
