KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended mixed at midday break, with the key index ending the morning session in positive territory.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.90 points, or 0.25 per cent to 1,544.32 from Wednesday's close of 1,540.42.
The broader market was negative with decliners outpacing gainers 510 to 376 while 446 counters were unchanged, 1,032 untraded and 21 others suspended.
Turnover amounted to 2.30 billion units worth RM1.19 billion.
Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) said after a four-day losing streak of 25 points, FBM KLCI rebounded 5.4 pts to 1,540.4, led by bargain hunting activities on banking, utilities and telco stocks. However, it said unless it surpasses the uptrend line near 1,545 (from year to date low 1,446), the benchmark may be trapped in consolidation mode amid multiple headwinds ahead.
"A strong rebound above 1,545 could spur further upside towards 1,565 and 1,584 resistance levels," it said in a note.
Among the heavyweight counters, Malayan Banking Bhd added six sen to RM9.66, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd gained seven sen to RM6.60 and Tenaga Nasional Bhd added 12 sen to RM11.64. Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd edged up two sen to RM6.85 and Public Bank Bhd eased one sen to RM4.14. As for the actives, Borneo Oli Bhd, and Ignenieur Gudang Bhd inched down by half a sen to half a sen and 14 sen, respectively, while Eversendai Corp Bhd gained 1.5 sen to 39 sen. Ends