KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed midday higher, with buying interest seen post the KL20 Summit, one analyst said.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.95 points, or 0.45 per cent 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.

Malacca Securities Research said buying interest in the stock market was seen post KL20 Summit and the firm expects the momentum to sustain at least for the near term within the Technology sectors.

This is due to the aim that Malaysia will become the chip powerhouse in the Southeast Asia (SEA) region, while the attention may spill over towards the construction, property, utilities and building materials segment, it said in a note. Among other heavyweights, Maxis Bhd went up 6.0 sen to RM3.54 while YTL Corporation Bhd edged up 4.0 sen to RM2.72 and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd rose 3.0 sen each to RM6.70.

As for the actives, InGenieur Gudang Bhd and Borneo Oil Bhd inched up half-a-sen each to 14.0 sen and 1.0 sen, respectively, while Talam Transform Bhd, Bina Puri Bhd and TWL Holdings Bhd were flat at 1.0 sen, 7.5 sen and 3.0 sen. End