by NG MIN SHEN

Bursa Malaysia ended Friday’s morning session higher after hitting a five-month low yesterday as investors sought selected heavyweights following the government’s announcement yesterday on its transparent approach to national financials.

At the midday break, the KLCI rose 19.54 points or 1.1% to 1,795.2 from the previous day’s close of 1,775.66.

The benchmark index moved between 1,785.12 and 1,797.81 throughout the morning trading session, after having opened 17.14 points higher at 1,792.8.

On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers at 406 against 337, while 375 counters were unchanged, 789 were untraded and 26 others suspended.

Volume stood at 1.23 billion units, valued at RM1.16 billion.

Among the top gainers were Axiata Group Bhd, Genting Malaysia Bhd, Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd, YTL Corp Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd.

Losers included MISC Bhd, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, IOI Corp Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd.