KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 7): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session today marginally higher following range-bound trading, supported by buying in selected heavyweights, dealers said.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged up 0.24 of-a-point to 1,581.83 from Monday’s close of 1,581.59.

After opening 0.16 of-a-point better at 1,581.75, the FBM KLCI moved between 1,581.08 and 1,586.37 during the morning session. 

In the broader market, gainers led losers by 502 to 441, while 437 counters were unchanged, 847 untraded and 25 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 2.76 billion units worth RM1.46 billion.

A dealer said Bursa Malaysia hovered in a tight range in the morning session after opening higher, tracking its regional peers which mostly extended yesterday’s rally as investors viewed the latest weak US jobs report positively.

Regionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index increased 0.61% to 26,322.18 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.83% to 29,907.18, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index eased 0.14% to 3,096.88 and South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.75% to 3,179.36 

Back home, among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd shed four sen each to RM8.29 and RM10.30, respectively, and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd slid one sen to RM8.09. Meanwhile, Public Bank Bhd and IHH Healthcare Bhd were flat at RM4.09 and RM6.35, respectively.

Of the actives, KNM Group Bhd increased two sen to 31 sen and Avillion Bhd bagged one sen to 14 sen, while Pegasus Heights Bhd, TFP Solutions Bhd and Hubline Bhd were flat at 1.5 sen, 23 sen and four sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index improved 8.54 points to 11,589.39, the FBMT 100 Index was 3.93 points better at 11,276.41, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index perked 26.96 points to 12,701.91.

The FBM 70 lifted 14.01 points to 15,217.76 while the FBM ACE advanced 42.34 points to 7,317.92.

Sector wise, the Plantation Index gained 6.33 points to 6,632.04 and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 1.65 points to 201.76, but the Financial Services Index fell 48.97 points to 15,427.25.