KUALA LUMPUR: The FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM) KLCI jumped almost 30 points in the morning session on a banking rally which pushed it to a high of 1,681.37 points.
Banking sector constituents made up more than 40 per cent of today's total trade value.
At 12.30pm, the 30-stock key index was up 1.37 per cent or 22.7 points to 1,674.99.
The broader market however saw losers lead gainers 559 to 438 while 457 counters were unchanged.
FBM Emas was up 0.87 per cent to 12,528.42, FBM100 rose 0.96 per cent to 12,226.22 while FBM Ace tumbled 0.61 per cent to 5,158.40.
Maybank Investment Bank said in a note the broader market continued to be soft with investors selective on stock picks.
"Some interest within the tech sector emerged ahead of NVIDIA's earnings tonight," it said in a note. Top gainers were KLK which added 42 sen to RM21.62, Hong Leong Bank rose 54 sen to RM20.70 while PBA Holdings Bhd was up 39 sen to RM2.59. On the losing end, Heineken Malaysia Bhd lost 26 sen to RM22.74 and Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd was down 72 sen to RM99.20.