KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia extended gains to finish the morning session higher, spurred by buying support in key heavyweights led by Maybank and CIMB, amid positive global sentiment, dealers said.
At 12.30 pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) chalked up 10.94 points to 1,674.21 from Tuesday’s close of 1,663.27 after moving between 1,670.12 and 1,677.91 throughout the morning session.
Contributing 4.981 points to the composite index, Maybank rose 15 sen to RM9.44 with 3.0 million shares changing hands, while CIMB bagged 12 sen to RM5.87 with 1.86 million shares transacted.
A dealer said sentiment in the global equity markets was buoyed by a series of positive developments in US-China trade talks, with US President Donald Trump stating he would intervene in the Huawei case if that would help Washington to reach a trade deal with Beijing.
Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver over a week ago at the request of the US Justice Department, which is seeking her extradition for alleged involvement in breaking the country’s sanctions against Iran.
“His (Trump) statement helped boost equities globally,” he told Bernama.
On Bursa, there were 335 gainers and 320 losers, with 307 counters unchanged, 952 untraded and 38 others suspended.
Volume stood at 921.51 million units valued at RM707.64 million.
Among heavyweights, Public Bank edged up eight sen to RM24.98, Petronas Chemicals and HH Healthcare added one sen each to RM9.18 and RM5.61 respectively, but Tenaga shed six sen to RM13.44.
Of actives, Bumi Armada gained half-a-sen to 18 sen, MyEG earned 7.5 sen to 91.5 sen, while Hubline was flat at four sen.
The FBM Emas Index advanced 60.43 points to 11,496.3, the FBMT 100 Index increased 63.53 points to 11,390.42, the FBM 70 improved 30.99 points to 13,237.28 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 39.48 points better at 11,446.1.
However, the FBM Ace Index eased 40.61 points to 4,492.14.
Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index chalked up 150.54 points to 17,440.23, the Plantation Index increased 42.16 points to 6,702.64, and the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.29 of-a-point to 167.48.
-- BERNAMA