Bursa Malaysia remained high this afternoon driven by buying activity in heavyweight stocks, especially in the utility sector.
Among them, YTL Power International rose 24 sen to RM3.61, YTL Corporation added nine sen to RM2.33. These two stocks pulled the composite index up by a combined 4.86 points.
At 12.30 this afternoon, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM KLCI) lost one point (0.07%) to 1,484.00 from yesterday's close of 1,483.00.
The FBM KLCI opened up 0.24 points to 1,483.24 this morning and it is now hovering between 1,482.02 to 1,485.10 at midday.
Meanwhile, market sentiment moved negatively where losers outnumbered gainers by 446 to 367. Meanwhile, 438 counters were unchanged, 968 were not traded and 29 counters were suspended.
Total trading revenue was 2.03 billion units worth RM1.31 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd in its statement said the steady move by the United States made the brokerage firm believe that buying interest might emerge in the technology sector.
In addition, the visit of the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong to Malaysia in the signing of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone agreement and the Rapid Transit System (RTS) link ceremony increased trade in the future.
ActivTrades investor Anderson Alves said Asian equity markets are poised for a moderately positive shift today as investors see a slight increase in the US Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Among heavyweights, Maybank rose one sen to RM9.01, CIMB rose three sen to RM5.98, Petronas Chemicals added five sen to RM6.93, Public Bank declined one sen to RM4.29 and Tenaga Nasional was unchanged at RM10. .44.
On the index board, the FBM 70 Index rose 0.99 points to 15,115.46, the FBMT 100 Index increased 6.05 points to 10,735.57, the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 13.06 points to 11,250.41 and the FBM Gold Index increased 6.23 points to 11,089.39 and the FBM ACE Index declined 10.14 points to 5,404 .48.