KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended mixed at midday break with the key index closing above the 1,600 level on bargain hunting activities.
The market sentiment in Asia picked up ahead of a highly anticipated earnings report from Nvidia.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) ) rose 10.79 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 1,603.23 from Friday's close of 1,592.44.
The benchmark index opened 0.47 of a point higher at 1,592.91 and moved between 1,591.49 and 1,605.41 throughout the morning trading session.
However, the broader market was negative with decliners outpacing gainers by 476 to 392 while 480 counters remained unchanged, 1,109 were untraded, and 15 were suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.89 billion shares valued at RM1.05 billion.
Malacca Securities Research expects most Asian stocks to start the week on a softer note, as investors price in the potential impact of Trump's tariff policies potentially reigniting inflation and a slower interest rate easing cycle expected in 2025.
"This week, traders will monitor key events, including a speech by the BoJ Governor, NVIDIA's earnings release, the G20 Summit in Brazil, and China's loan prime rate announcements," it said in a note.
Among the top actives were Classita Group Bhd down 0.5 sen to six sen, Top Glove Corp Bhd up two sen to RM1.12 and Cape EMS Bhd sliding one sen to 38.5 sen.
Ends