KUALA LUMPUR (April 4): Bursa Malaysia remained higher at midday on Thursday, buoyed by persistent bargain-hunting in most heavyweight stocks.

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 14.31 points or 0.93% to 1,551.32 from Wednesday’s close of 1,537.01. 

The benchmark index, which opened 1.97 points higher at 1,538.98, moved between 1,537.25 and 1,552.05 throughout the morning trading session.

On the broader market, gainers outnumbered decliners 566 to 297, with 459 counters unchanged, 996 untraded and nine others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.85 billion units worth RM1.24 billion.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said despite the mixed sentiments abroad, the local market is expected to stabilise and trade on a positive note within the commodity-related sectors such as oil and gas, plantation and gold.

Additionally, selected construction, building material and property as well as healthcare stocks are also expected to see some bargain hunting, it said in a note. 

On the technical front, it expects the resistance level to be around 1,550-1,555 and the support level at 1,515-1,520.

Among the heavyweights, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd bagged 29 sen to RM5.06, Telekom Malaysia Bhd rose 14 sen to RM6.16, Sime Darby Plantation Bhd gained nine sen to RM4.44, Sime Darby Bhd added five sen to RM2.74, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd advanced nine sen to RM6.65, and YTL Power International Bhd edged up five sen to RM4.30. 

As for the most active stocks, TWL Holdings Bhd was flat at three sen, while Zantat Holdings Bhd climbed six sen to 54.5 sen, Fitters Diversified Bhd was half a sen better at six sen, Widad Group Bhd increased a sen to eight sen and TDM Bhd improved 3.5 sen to 32 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 96.71 points higher at 11,681.48, the FBMT 100 Index leapt 95.05 points to 11,316.87, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index bagged 97.06 points to 11,810.89.

The FBM 70 Index jumped 99.02 points to 16,328.45 and the FBM ACE Index notched 18.12 points to 4,972.87.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index grew 143.47 points to 17,295.32, the Energy Index strengthened 13.67 points to 979.71, and the Plantation Index added 51.53 points to 7,362.69, while the Industrial Products and Services Index perked 2.67 points to 182.58.