BURSA MALAYSIA MAINTAINS POSITIVE MOMENTUM AT MIDDAY, CI UP 0.49 PCT

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia maintained its positive momentum to end the morning session higher, supported by continuous bargain-hunting activities, in tandem with the upbeat performance on Wall Street and regional markets.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 7.88 points or 0.49 per cent to 1,610.87 compared with Tuesday's close of 1,602.99.

The benchmark index opened marginally higher by 0.59 of-a-point at 1,603.58, and moved between 1,602.79 and 1,612.12 during the session.

The broader market was positive, with gainers thumping decliners 541 to 290, while 478 counters remained unchanged, 1,113 were untraded, and 17 suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.34 billion units valued at RM885.43 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd in a note said investors are closely monitoring key economic data, such as the initial jobless claims announcement later today and Friday’s crude oil inventories, for further assessment.

Among heavyweights, Maybank rose four sen to RM10.12, Public Bank eased three sen to RM4.52, CIMB added three sen to RM8.00, Tenaga Nasional gained 10 sen to RM14.18, and IHH Healthcare increased 12 sen to RM7.20.

For active stocks, Zen Tech was up half-a-sen to one sen, JCY garnered four sen to 56.5 sen, Vanzo rose one 1.5 to 19.5 sen, SNS Network put on eight sen to 65 sen, and Globetronics edged up 2.5 sen to 60 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index expanded 66.59 points to 12,349.47, the FBM Emas Shariah Index surged 90.52 points to 12,328.18, and the FBMT 100 Index rose 64.95 points to 12,034.30.

The FBM ACE Index increased 45.06 points to 5,326.62 and the FBM 70 Index jumped 122.36 points to 18,497.63.

By sector, the Financial Services Index advanced 29.04 points to 18,912.77, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 2.20 points to 172.58, the Energy Index improved 5.13 points to 820.19, and the Plantation Index climbed 27.63 points to 7,536.31.

-- BERNAMA