KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia defied the regional trend at midday, with its key index rising by 0.71 per cent, supported by buying interest in banking and telecommunications heavyweights.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 11.71 points to 1,650.67, up from Monday's close of 1,638.96.
Contributing to the composite index, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), Public Bank Bhd, CelcomDigi Bhd and Maxis Bhd added a combined 10.26 points.
The index opened 0.20 of-a-point higher at 1,639.16 and fluctuated between 1,639.16 and 1,653.12 during the morning session.
However, broader market sentiment was mixed, with decliners outnumbering advancers 514 to 409.
Meanwhile, 431 counters remained unchanged, 1,172 were untraded and 25 were suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.71 billion shares worth RM1.35 billion.
Regionally, Singapore's Straits Times Index dropped 0.29 per cent to 3,386.06, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.27 per cent to 17,750.32 and South Korea's Kospi decreased 0.39 per cent to 2,687.58.
In contrast, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.30 per cent to 38,150.00.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd noted today that trading activity locally was positive, with most sub-indices advancing.
"Despite the US Federal Reserve's dovish stance at the recent Jackson Hole Symposium, sentiment on Wall Street was mixed, with profit-taking observed in the technology sector.
"In the commodity market, Brent crude oil extended its rebound, rising above US$81 per barrel amid increasing geopolitical tensions and expectations that lower US interest rates will boost economic activity," it said.
Among other heavyweights, CIMB and Press Metal each gained six sen to RM7.95 and RM5.27, respectively. Petronas Chemicals advanced nine sen to RM5.82 and Hong Leong Bank added four sen to RM20.14.
Conversely, Tenaga Nasional fell two sen to RM13.90, and IHH declined one sen to RM6.30.
In active counters, Velesto inched up half-a-sen to 22 sen, Elridge added 2.5 sen to 47.5 sen, while Cape eased half a sen to 38 sen and Notion dropped four sen to RM1.04.
MYEG remained unchanged at 90 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index climbed 76.90 points to 12,429.21, the FBMT 100 Index rose 84.44 points to 12,116.96, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 45.22 points to 12,337.83.
The FBM 70 Index increased by 118.80 points to 17,844.38, while the FBM ACE Index fell 22.71 points to 5,184.46.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index decreased by 6.27 points to 7,216.11, while the Energy Index rose 11.87 points to 947.31.
The Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.24 of-a-point to 183.13, and the Financial Services Index firmed by 219.55 points to 19,260.42.