KUALA LUMPUR (April 1): Bursa Malaysia was higher at midday on Monday, driven by persistent buying interest in most mid- and small-cap stocks.

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose by 7.54 points or 0.49% to 1,543.61 from last Friday’s close of 1,536.07.

The benchmark index opened 1.43 points higher at 1,537.50 and moved between 1,537.07 and 1,544.71 throughout the morning trading session.

On the broader market, gainers beat decliners 501 to 392, while 447 counters were unchanged, 933 untraded and eight others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 1.81 billion units worth RM984.90 million.

Brokerage firm Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd believes that the overall sentiment is turning more positive heading into the second quarter of 2024, with domestic catalysts such as a stable political environment, execution of masterplans and firmer commodities prices.

“We opine that the revival of mega infrastructure projects could benefit the construction, building material and property sectors.

“We also like recovery theme stocks in the banking, consumer and automotive sectors, while commodity-related sectors such as oil and gas and plantation will be riding their underlying commodity strengths,” it said in a note.

Technically, resistance for the benchmark index is envisaged around 1,550-1,555 and support at 1,515-1,520 on Monday.

At noon break, heavyweights Sime Darby Plantation Bhd increased eight sen to RM4.39, PPB Group Bhd rose 28 sen to RM15.66, Genting Bhd bagged seven sen to RM4.77, Maxis Bhd added five sen to RM3.42, and CelcomDigi Bhd increased six sen to RM4.25.

Among the actives, TWL Holdings Holdingd Bhd was flat at three sen, Sapura Energy Bhd was unchanged at five sen, SMTrack Bhd added half-a-sen to five sen, and Fitters Diversified Bhd rose half-a-sen to six sen, while Artroniq Bhd added 1.5 sen to 28.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index garnered 43.01 points to 11,614.60, the FBMT 100 Index climbed 39.81 points to 11,257.38, the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 46.29 points firmer at 11,689.81 and the FBM ACE Index grew 15.82 points to 4,912.88, while the FBM 70 Index slid 4.98 points to 16,229.10.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.59 of-a-point to 180.22, the Financial Services Index improved by 60.76 points to 17,334.03, the Plantation Index recovered 38.57 points to 7,326.24, and the Energy Index added 5.46 points to 957.82.