FRESH buying support boosted Bursa Malaysia’s key index by 1.01% at mid-morning, with Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and Axiata Group Bhd leading the gainers’ list. 

At 11.01am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) improved by 14.91 points to 1,482.17 from Wednesday’s closing of 1,467.26. 

On the broader market, gainers led decliners 431 to 209, while 323 counters were unchanged, 1,369 untraded and seven others suspended.

Turnover stood at 847.54 million units valued at RM471.75 million.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said some bargain-hunting activities may emerge in the technology sector after the recent selldown.

“Meanwhile, the OPEC’s call for a production cut should bode well for Brent crude oil price, which is currently trading above US$100 (RM447),” it said in a note today.

The brokerage also anticipated the oil and gas sector to stay positive on the back of firmer crude oil prices.

“As we are nearing the end of the reporting season, the earning catalysts may wane this week and traders may look out for construction and building material stocks ahead of Budget 2023,” it added.

Meanwhile, among the heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd added two sen to RM8.83, Public Bank Bhd was flat at RM4.62, TM gained 31 sen to RM5.96, TNB rose by 17 sen to RM8.58 and Axiata was nine sen better at RM3.

Of the actives, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd was seven sen better at RM1.03, TWL Holdings Bhd was flat at five sen while its warrant was half-a-sen easier at 1.5 sen, Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd lost one sen to 3.5 sen while its warrant shed half-a-sen to one sen.

On the index board, the FBM ACE rose 29.31 points to 4,904.28, the FBM 70 advanced 102.12 points to 12,703.12, the FBM Emas Index was 98.7 points higher at 10,549.05, the FBM T100 Index added 98.64 points to 10,288.97 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index jumped 136.67 points to 10,640.49.

Sector-wise, the Energy Index shaved 26.59 points to 733.788, the Financial Services Index added 75.06 points to 16,626.01, the Plantation Index improved 56.56 points to 6,917.39 and the Industrial Products and Services Index accumulated 0.71 of-a-point to 180.6. — Bernama / Pic by Muhd Amin Naharul