KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia was marginally higher at midday, supported by mild buying in selected heavyweights, in tandem with regional peers, said an analyst.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) edged up 1.33 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 1,643.87 from Tuesday's close of 1,642.54.
The benchmark index opened 1.67 points firmer at 1,644.21.
On the broader market, gainers led decliners 464 to 451 while 480 counters were unchanged, 1,108 untraded and 15 suspended.
Turnover stood at 2.02 billion units valued at RM1.25 billion.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said Wall Street overnight saw a mixed performance, with uncertainty looming ahead of the US elections and ongoing corporate earnings reports.
Additionally, rising treasury yields, which often indicate tighter monetary policy, are reducing the likelihood of further rate cuts.
"On the local front, we anticipate investors may shift their attention to export-oriented sectors such as gloves and technology. Also, the rebound in oil prices and the crude palm oil breakout may attract traders to the oil and gas and plantation sectors.
"On Budget 2025, we also see opportunities in construction, property, and renewable energy sectors," it said.
Heavyweights Maybank, Tenaga Nasional and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM10.62, RM14.46 and RM7.23, respectively, while Public Bank added one sen to RM4.56 and CIMB Group gained two sen to RM8.18.
As for the active counters, Ingenieur Gudang and Capital A inched up half-a-sen each to 5.5 sen and 98 sen, respectively, MY E.G. Services rose by 1.5 sen to 90 sen, Niche Capital Emas improved one sen to 18.5 sen, while Dataprep eased 1.5 sen to 15.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index improved 18.04 points to 12,384.31, the FBM 70 Index garnered 57.11 points to 17,887.42, the FBMT 100 Index increased 18.04 points to 12,089.63, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index climbed 15.98 points to 12,316.45.
However, the FBM ACE Index inched down 2.87 points to 5,099.04.
Sector-wise, the Energy Index edged up 1.73 points to 861.06 and the Financial Services Index advanced 42.30 points to 19,496.82.
In contrast, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased by 0.11 of-a-point to 177.17 and the Plantation Index shed 0.74 of-a-point to 7,276.12.