At 3pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) advanced 13.28 points to 1,685.88 from 1,672.60 on Wednesday.
The index opened 7.11 points higher at 1,679.71.
Market breadth remained positive with 518 gainers outpacing 183 losers, while 307 counters were unchanged, 876 untraded and 54 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 1.10 billion shares worth RM654.98 million.
Among heavyweights, Maybank rose three sen to RM9.38, Public Bank bagged 14 sen to RM24.90, Tenaga advanced four sen to RM13.58, Petronas Chemicals put on 18 sen to RM9.37 and CIMB was six sen higher RM5.78.
Of actives, Hibiscus and Prestariang perked five sen each to 82.5 sen and 45.5 sen, respectively, MyEG rose 4.5 sen to 97.5 sen while both Sapura Energy and Hubline were unchanged at 29 sen and four sen, respectively.
Nestle was the top gainer, surging RM1.40 to RM146.90, followed by Allianz which advanced 40 sen to RM12.80, F&N increased 34 sen to RM32.34, Malaysia Airports increased 25 sen to RM8.43 and Petronas Gas was 22 sen better at RM19.00.
The FBM Emas Index propped up 113.57 points to 11,493.87, the FBMT 100 Index leapt 112.47 points to 11,411.60, the FBM 70 surged 223.11 points to 13,037.63 and the FBM Ace Index was 45.63 points firmer at 4,220.12.