KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session higher, buoyed by bargain-hunting activities, in tandem with the positive regional market performance.

At Wednesday's (Dec 14) lunch break, the benchmark FBM KLCI had risen by 10.16 points to 1,480.28, from Tuesday's closing at 1,470.12.

The barometer index opened 1.77 points higher at 1,471.89, and moved between 1,471.64 and 1,480.93 during the morning session.

On the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 453 versus 342, while 367 counters were unchanged, 1,111 untraded, and 13 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.52 billion units worth RM879.68 million.

In a note, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said Wall Street advanced overnight, after the US posted softer-than-expected consumer price index data.

“At this moment, the market believes that the worst of the inflation is behind us, and the global stock markets may see some recovery," it said.

Meanwhile, Bursa heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) was unchanged at RM8.75 a share, Public Bank Bhd rose four sen to RM4.39, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd gained three sen to RM8.51, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd added eight sen to RM5.84, and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) earned 11 sen to RM9.32.

Of the actives, SNS Network Technology Bhd added two sen to 27 sen, Advance Synergy Bhd ticked up one sen to 18 sen, NWP Holdings Bhd gained one sen to 21 sen, and ITMAX System Bhd rose two sen to RM1.40, while Borneo Oil Bhd was flat at 2.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 55.35 points to 10,634.89, the FBMT 100 Index rose by 56.78 points to 10,339.38, the FBM Emas Shariah Index strengthened 68.74 points to 10,776.55, and the FBM 70 Index edged up 14.54 points to 13,020.54, while the FBM ACE Index slipped 8.09 points to 5,486.81.  

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was 47.28 points higher at 16,619.41, the Plantation Index added 74.44 points to 6,760.37, the Industrial Products and Services Index increased 0.54 of a point to 181.15, and the Energy Index climbed 9.35 points to 794.07.