KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI ended the morning slightly higher as the domestic market rallied on the back of the government's latest stimulus package and news of China's economic growth.

At 12.30pm, the key index was up 2.78 points to 1,612.3, snapping a three-day losing streak although gains were capped by ongoing concerns over rising coronavirus cases in the country and the impact of the movement control order.

Financial heavyweghts bounced back from recent losses triggered by Bank Negara's looming monetary policy decision, which is expected to result in a further interest rate cut.

Maybank was up nine sen to RM8.17 and Hong Leong Bank rose 12 sen to RM17.56 while Public Bank and CIMB were unchanged.

Petronas Chemicals, which jumped 13 sen to RM7.41 as it bounced higher following from yesterday's sell-off.

On the most actives list, Vsolar was unchanged at four sen, PA rose 0.5 sen to 18 sen and PNEPCB dropped three sen to 35 sen.

In global markets, investors bet on the strength of China's economy following its positive 2020 GDP growth.

Japan's Nikkei climbed 1.4% and South Korea's Kospi jumped 2.4%.

While China's composite index was flat, Hong Kong's Hang Seng leapt over 3%. In Australia, the ASX200 was up 1.1%.