KUALA LUMPUR (June 24): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session in positive territory, in line with the uptrend among regional peers, supported by buying interest in technology and healthcare counters, a dealer said. 

At lunch break on Friday (June 24), the FBM KLCI had increased 5.76 points to 1,436.81 from Thursday's close at 1,431.05.

The benchmark index, which opened 0.25 of a point higher at 1,431.30, moved between 1,431.30 and 1,439.65 throughout the morning session. 

On the broader market, gainers surpassed losers 409 to 329, while 364 counters were unchanged, 1,187  untraded and 10 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.47 billion units worth RM753.16 million.

In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd reckoned that any gains in the local bourse should be short-lived on the back of mounting concerns over a potential recession, as well as inflationary pressure that may hit corporate earnings going forward. 

“Commodity-wise, the Brent oil price continued to retreat at around US$110 (about RM484.69) per barrel, while the crude palm oil price saw mild improvement at around RM4,750," it said. 

The brokerage said energy and plantation stocks are likely to remain volatile over the near term as selling pressure arising from declining commodity prices intersperse with bargain-hunting activities.

“We still favour defensive sectors such as the consumer, banking and real estate investment trust sectors," it added. 

Among the heavyweights, Inari Amertron Bhd gained four sen to RM2.57, IHH Healthcare Bhd rose 10 sen to RM6.46, Hartalega Holdings Bhd widened five sen to RM2.79, Top Glove Corp Bhd was two sen stronger at RM1.07 and Public Bank Bhd increased three sen to RM4.43.

Of the actives, Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) went up one sen to 76.5 sen, TWL Holdings Bhd and Jade Marvel Group Bhd climbed half a sen to 7.5 sen and 91 sen respectively, Reach Energy Bhd added 2.5 sen to 80 sen, while Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd shed two sen to 91.5 sen. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 42.01 points to 10,249.24, the FBM Emas Shariah Index appreciated 52.77 points to 10,405.75, FBM 70 was 66.14 points better at 12,410.02 and the FBMT 100 Index strengthened 43.19 points to 9,992.29, while FBM ACE gained 24.11 points to 4,770.72. 

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index increased 22.22 points to 15,942.81, whereas the Industrial Products and Services Index was slightly higher by 1.15 points at 182.43, while the Plantation Index narrowed by 38.63 points to 6,915.65.