KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia inched into positive territory at midday break, supported by buying activities in certain heavyweights in the last hour of morning trade.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 0.03 per cent or 0.54 points to 1,453.64 from Tuesday's close of 1,453.10.
The benchmark index opened 0.56 points easier at 1,452.54, and hit a high of 1,454.51 before ending the morning session.
On the broader market, gainers led decliners 512 to 383, while 402 counters were unchanged, 931 untraded and 22 suspended.
Turnover amounted to 3.06 billion units worth RM1.41 billion.
Hong Leong Investment Bank Research (HLIB) said despite a softer global environment and mildly higher Malaysia's inflation target in 2024 (due to subsidy rationalisation), Bursa Malaysia should perform better in the medium to long term.
The firm said this will be led by continuous execution of the macro blueprints launched in 2023, as well as a persistent fiscal reforms to bring the country's balance sheet back on stronger footing. "Major supports for Jan are 1,430-1,450 whilst stiff resistances are located near 1,470-1,490 zones," it said.
Among heavyweights, YTL Power International Bhd rose 17 sen to RM2.74 and YTL Corporation Bhd increased 8.0 sen to RM2.
Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd added 3.0 sen to RM7.18, PPB Group Bhd was up by 14 sen to RM14.42, MISC Group Bhd grew 4.0 sen to RM7.33 and IHH Healthcare Bhd gained 2.0 sen to RM6.01.
Of the actives, MMAG Group Bhd increased 3.5 sen to 16 sen, Fitters Diversified Bhd and Widad Group Bhd were both flat at 5.5 sen and 48.5 sen respectively, while Top Glove Corp Bhd increased 3.5 sen to 94.5 sen and Minetech added 1.5 sen to 16 sen.