KUALA LUMPUR, The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stayed higher at midday on continuous buying interest in selected heavyweights, an analyst said. At 12.30 pm, the benchmark index rose 2.49 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 1,639.03 from Monday's close of 1,636.54. The FBM KLCI, which opened 2.02 points firmer at 1,638.56, moved between 1,636.89 and 1,640.42 throughout the morning session. The broader market, however, remained negative, with 530 decliners outpacing 327 gainers; while 445 counters remained unchanged, 1,175 were untraded, and nine were suspended. Turnover stood at 1.38 billion units valued at RM1.09 billion. In a note, Maybank Investment Bank Bhd said investors are now turning their attention to the upcoming Budget 2025 announcement this Friday, alongside another wave of major US earnings reports expected this week. 'Technically, we expect the benchmark index to range between 1,625 and 1,645 today, with supports at 1,623 and 1,596,' said the investment bank. Among the heavyweights, Maxis rose 7.0 sen to RM3.73, Nestle gained RM1.50 to RM104.00, Public Bank increased 50 sen to RM4.44, Maybank added 10 sen to RM10.64 and Sunway lifted 4.0 sen to RM4.39. As for the active counters, ACE Market debutant Northeast Group garnered 3.5 sen to 53.5 sen, Focus Dynamics edged up half-a-sen to 2.5 sen, Mpire Global rose 2.0 sen to 14.0 sen, Bina Puri was flat at 35.5 sen, and Perdana Petroleum slipped 2.0 sen to 28 sen. On the index board, the FBM Emas Index added 5.68 points to 12,295.64 and the FBMT 100 Index climbed 8.78 points to 11,998.50, but the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 3.08 points to 12,198.82, the FBM 70 Index fell 22.17 points to 17,547.15, and the FBM ACE Index dropped 18.15 points to 5,070.96. Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index advanced 107.81 points to 19,366.97, the Plantation Index added 6.21 points to 7,222.89, and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.26 of-a-point to 175.49, while the Energy Index trimmed 18.47 points to 859.60. Source: BERNAMA News Agenc y