KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed the morning session on a positive note, supported by gains in selected financial services and industrial products, maintaining momentum in the market.
At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.49 points to 1,616.51 from Friday's close of 1,611.02.
The benchmark index opened 6.12 points firmer at 1,617.14 and fluctuated between 1,613.56 and 1,618.02 throughout the morning trading session.
On the broader market, gainers outnumbered losers 447 to 562, with 506 counters unchanged.
In a note today, Malacca Securities Research said the market sentiment has turned better last week for the local front.
"We might be anticipating more upside potential on various sectors driven by the data centre catalysts following the investment from several multinational corporations (MNCs) earlier on.
"Meanwhile, we believe the outcome of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high speed rail (HSR) project will be announced in the second half of 2024 (2H24)," it said.
The firm said the HSR announcement may boost appetite for stocks within the construction, property, building materials, and utilities sectors.