KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 9): The FBM KLCI  reversed its earlier and climbed at mid-morning, tracking regional markets, lifted by select blue chips.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI was up 1.29 points to 1,617.31. The index had earlier slipped to a low of 1,613.27.

Gainers led losers by 307 to 167,while 281 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 525.77 million shares valued at RM260.59 million.

The gainers included Nestle (M) Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd, Yinson Holdings Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd and Lingkaran Trans Kota Holdings Bhd.

The actives included Vsolar Group Bhd, Ekovest Bhd, Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd, Eduspec Holdings Bhd, Datasonic Group Bhd, KNM Group Bhd and NetX Holdings Bhd.

The decliners included Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Genting Plantations Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd, Sime Darby Plantations Bhd and Padini Holdings Bhd.

Asian shares caught the tail of a Wall Street rally on Friday, helped by China's better-than-expected export figures but fresh concerns about Sino-U.S. trade ties are likely to limit gains in the region, according to Reuters.

Weighing on risk appetite was a report from Bloomberg that Washington is delaying a decision about licenses for U.S. firms to restart trade with Huawei Technologies. That sent U.S. stock futures down as much as 0.6% in early Asian trade. They were last quoted 0.4% lower on the day, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said globally, investors are watching closely on the currency fix in China, 10-year treasury yield and economic data under this protracted trade war environment between the US and China.

“In the meantime, the relief rally on crude oil prices after Saudi Arabia contacted other producers to discuss options to potentially stop the price from falling further and this could lend some support towards energy stocks over the near term.

“Tracking the overnight Wall Street performance and the recovering technicals, as well as less negative news headlines for now, we opine that the buying support could sustain over the near term.

“Also, we observed immigration-related and O&G stocks may anticipate some mild recovery as trading volumes picked up recently and recovery in crude oil prices. Meanwhile, the KLCI’s resistance is set around 1,640-1,650,” it said.