KUALA LUMPUR (April 24): Bursa Malaysia remained in positive territory at the midday break on Wednesday, supported by continuous buying in selected heavyweight counters, especially in the telecommunications and media sectors. 

The positive sentiment was also in tandem with the upbeat performance of regional peers. 

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.95 points, or 0.45% to 1,568.59 from Tuesday's close of 1,561.64.

The benchmark index opened 3.85 points higher at 1,565.49 and moved between 1,564.89 and 1,571.04 throughout the morning trading session.  

On the broader market, gainers led decliners 617 to 303, while 460 counters were unchanged, 984 untraded and 21 others suspended. Turnover amounted to 2.57 billion units worth RM1.27 billion.

ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves said Asian equities are likely to trade in positive territory on Wednesday as easing tensions in the Middle East have encouraged market participants to unwind hedges and increase their exposure to equities. "This shift in sentiment is supported by the softening greenback and lower US Treasury yields, following subdued purchasing managers' index data in the United States," he said. 

Looking ahead, he said no significant economic data is expected before the release of US gross domestic product and personal consumption expenditure figures later this week.

"However, traders are likely to focus on Tesla’s earnings, which have already lifted the stock in after-hours trading following the company’s announcement to accelerate the launch of new vehicle models, originally scheduled to begin production in the second half of 2025.

"Expectations are also set for upcoming earnings from major US tech companies like Meta, potentially maintaining a positive atmosphere in the tech sector ahead of these releases," he added. 

Meanwhile, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd expects the KLCI index to surpass the 1,565 level (year-to-date high) on Wednesday following recent gains, coupled with Wall Street's upbeat overnight performance. 

"However, we see stiff hurdles at the 1,580-1,600 zone as investors recalibrate [their positions] due to lingering geopolitical tensions, a shift in the Fed rate cut debate and the ongoing US first quarter results season. The ringgit weakness, persistent foreign [outflows], and potential earnings disappointment from the imminent local first quarter results season (will also affect sentiment)," it added. 

Among the heavyweight stocks, Axiata Bhd jumped 11 sen to RM2.71, Maxis Bhd added six sen to RM3.54 while CelcomDigi Bhd and YTL Corp Bhd each gained four sen to RM4.11 and RM2.72, respectively. Public Bank Bhd edged up two sen to RM4.23. 

As for the actives, MyEG Services Bhd added a sen to 79.5 sen, while Talam Transform Bhd, TWL Holdings Bhd, Bina Puri Holdings Bhd and InGenieur Gudang Bhd were all flat at one sen, three sen, 7.5 sen and 13.5 sen, respectively. 

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index advanced 64.32 points to 11,779.36, the FBM 70 Index surged 112.55 points to 16,361.59 and the FBMT 100 Index climbed 57.79 points to 11,416.05. The FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 81.57 points to 11,939.92 and the FBM ACE Index ticked up 83.88 points to 5,042.03. 

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index picked up 1.04 points to 186.6, the Financial Services Index expanded 37.27 points to 17,392.62 and the Energy Index went up 6.87 points to 976.03. The Plantation Index garnered 41.1 points to 7,425.05.