Bursa Malaysia closed higher at midday to track most of its regional peers.
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 5.53 points (0.35%) to 1,550 from its close of 1,544.02 on Monday.
The benchmark index opened 0.49 points lower at 1,543.53 and is now moving between 1,540.77 to 1,550.53 during this morning's trading session.
Market sentiment was broadly flat with gainers and losers not much different at 465 to 463. Meanwhile, 457 counters were unchanged, 989 were untraded and 13 others were suspended.
The total turnover was 2.69 billion units worth RM1.31 billion.
According to Maybank Investment Bank, the consolidation phase in the consumer and utility sectors appears to have ended and profit-taking activity has begun in the construction sector.
Technically, the KLCI is expected to move in a range between 1,530 to 1,550 points today with support levels placed at 1,525 and 1,508 points.
Meanwhile, heavyweights such as Sime Darby Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd rose eight sen each to RM2.60 and RM6.07 respectively, MISC Bhd added 12 sen to RM7.78, Tenaga Nasional Bhd rose 16 sen to RM11. 54 and YTL Power International Bhd rose 24 sen to RM22.04.
As for active shares, Alpha IVF Group Bhd rose half a sen to 33 sen, Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd rose three sen to 25 sen, Zantat Holdings Bhd rose one sen to 50 sen and SNS Network Technology Bhd rose six sen to 35 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 33.23 points to 11,641.86, the FBMT 100 Index strengthened 32.95 points to 11,282.9, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 43.09 points to 11,723.98 and the FBM 173.6 Index improved to 113.13.
