Bursa Malaysia ended Thursday's morning trading session higher despite the mixed market sentiment given the cautious sentiment and the mostly upbeat performance of regional markets.
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was up 0.14% or 2.39 points to 1,617.71 from 1,615.32 when it closed on Wednesday.
The benchmark index opened 0.64 points stronger to 1,615.96 and now moves between 1,614.71 to 1,619.75 throughout the morning session.
Market sentiment was negative as losers outnumbered gainers by 569 to 470. Meanwhile, 469 counters were unchanged, 895 were untraded and six others were suspended.
The total turnover is 3.06 billion units worth RM2.01 billion.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's Vice President of Equity Research, Thong Pak Leng believes that the local exchange may have moved on from its consolidation phase.
He expects the index to rise again and be in the range of 1,615 to 1,630 on Thursday.
Meanwhile, among the gainers on Bursa Malaysia, Greatech Technology rose 13 sen to RM5.53, Arka rose 10 sen to RM2.18, United Malacca rose seven sen to RM5.15 and Hume Cement Industries rose seven sen to RM3.67.
Toyo Ventures fell 31 sen to RM1.07, Malaysian Pacific Industries fell 18 sen to RM39.50, Gamuda fell 10 sen to RM7.14 and Can-One fell 10 sen to RM2.97.
Ocean Fresh Bhd, which started trading on Bursa Malaysia's ACE Market, jumped 194.64% (54.5 sen) to 82.5 sen at 9.16am.
