KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index ended the morning trading session higher in line with the upbeat regional markets although sentiment remained cautious amid ongoing developments in the Strait of Hormuz.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.11 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 1,700.32 from last Friday’s close of 1,695.21.  

The FBM KLCI, which opened 1.71 points lower at 1,693.50, moved between 1,689.00 and 1,703.64 during the morning session.

However, market breadth was negative with losers surpassing gainers 604 to 418, while 530 counters were unchanged, 1,206 untraded, and 24 suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.75 billion units worth RM1.33 billion. 

At the time of writing, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index increased 0.83 per cent to 26,376.98, South Korea’s Kospi Index climbed 1.02 per cent to 6,255.20, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index gained 0.72 per cent to 58,899.49, and Indonesia's IDX Composite Index inched up 0.02 per cent to 7,635.41.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank added 12 sen to RM11.22, Public Bank put on one sen to RM4.69, CIMB Group