KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session higher on bargain-hunting activities in tandem with the uptrend in regional stock markets as investors bought shares mainly in the logistics, energy and technology sectors, according to a dealer.

At lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) climbed 3.04 points to 1,491.70 from yesterday's close of 1,488.66.

The market bellwether, which opened 0.61 of-a-point weaker at 1,488.05, moved between 1,488.05 and 1,494.53 throughout the morning session. 

Meanwhile, market breadth was also positive with gainers outpacing losers 397 versus 365, while 403 counters were unchanged, 1,037 untraded and 20 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 2.07 billion units worth RM955.81 million.

According to Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd, the optimism on Wall Street overnight, coupled with the higher Brent crude oil price of around US$84 per barrel could lift the sentiment on the local bourse.

"Investors may seek bargain hunting opportunities within the technology sector amid the persistent uptrend on Wall Street," it said in a note today.

Meanwhile, the brokerage also anticipated interest to continue in tourism and consumer stocks amid a strong rebound in travel demand.

"The energy stocks may gain momentum amid firmer crude oil prices," it said. 

Among the heavyweights, MISC added four sen to RM7.29, Dialog Group increased one sen to RM2.60, Maybank gained two sen to RM8.82, Public Bank was flat at RM4.31 while Inari Amertron shed four sen to RM2.64.

As for the actives, Serba Dinamik and Velesto Energy climbed 1.5 sen each to 2.5 sen and 17.5 sen respectively, Nationgate gained six sen to RM1.06, Zen Tech International picked up one sen to 3.5 sen, while AT Systematization was unchanged at one sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index earned 24.75 points to 10,767.51, the FBMT 100 Index advanced 22.57 points to 10,463.65, the FBM Emas Shariah Index inched up 18.26 points to 10,963.11, the FBM 70 Index climbed 34.09 points to 13,375.56, and the FBM ACE Index stronger 7.10 points to 5,435.73.  

Sector-wise, the Transportation and Logistics Index ticked up 14.52 points to 925.19, the Energy Index perked 6.83 points to 823.10, the Technology Index was up 0.31 of-a-point to 66.60, the Industrial Products and Services Index expanded 0.75 of-a-point to 184.56 and the Financial Services Index was 42.93 points higher at 16,580.62.

The Plantation Index slid 7.70 points to 6,914.92.