KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI extended its rally over the morning session on the back of buying interest in Press Metal , Petronas Chemicals and Maybank.

       At 12.30pm, the key index had climbed 10.74 points to 1,533.5 as rising commodities prices boosted equities.

       Over Bursa Malaysia, the breadth of counters was positive with 390 gainers compared to 269 decliners.

       Press Metal rose 10 sen to RM6.31 amid elevated aluminium prices while Petronas Chemicals gained nine sen to RM9.05.

       Plantation stocks were also buoyed by crude palm oil prices led by IOI up seven sen to RM3.81 and Sime Darby Plantation gaining six sen to RM3.58.

       Meanwhile, Maybank rose five sen to RM8.31 and Hong Leong Bank added 16 sen to RM19.76. Public Bank was down one sen to RM4.22 while CIMB shed one sen to RM5.25.

       In rubber gloves, Hartalega was seen climbing 29 sen to RM5.89 ahead of its earnings release later this week while sector rival Top Glove jumped 28 sne to RM2.45.

       On the broader market, top actives were SMTrack gained one sen to 18.5 sen, Kanger rose 0.5 sen to 2.5 sen and DNeX fell 1.5 sen to 99.5 sen.

       Regionally, markets were softer following the release of a strong US jobs report that suggested the global recovery was picking up, adding to risks of aggressive tightening by the US Federal Reserve.

       Japan's Nikkei fell 0.75% and South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.5%.

       In China, the composite index jumped 1.9% as the stock exchange reopened following the Lunar New Year holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng however dropped 0.3%.

       Australia's ASX200 rose 0.1%