KUALA LUMPUR: Asian markets opened on a slightly optimistic note as reports suggest that trade talks between the US and China could be held as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday.
Japan's Nikkei fluctuated between positive and negative territory in early trade amid fears of further strain on the Chinese yuan and Turkish lira.
At 9.18am, the FBM KLCI was up 0.9 points to 1,784.4. Trading volume was 232.9 million shares valued at RM109.3mil. There were 207 advancers, 137 decliners and 230 counters unchanged.
The index had moved quickly between gains and losses in the early minutes of trade, suggesting a spate of indecision among investors.
Kenanga Research said in its Monday technical outlook that despite recent candlesticks depicting a slightly negative outlook, it is optimistic about a possible change in market sentiment related to the trade talks.
"More notably, the index is now trading above its 20 and 50-day SMAs.
"Should a recovery play-out, resistance levels can be found at 1,800 (R1) and 1,830 (R2). Conversely, supports can be identified at 1,750 (S1) and 1,720 (S2)."
Among actively traded counters, Pesona was up half a sen to 31 sen, QES gained half a sen to 27 sen and Salute rose seven sen to 66.5 sen.
Leading gainers included Petronas Dagangan rising 18 sen to RM27.08, DRB-Hicom adding 18 sen to RM2.54 and Pentamaster putting on 15 sen to RM3.25.
On the losing end, Far East lost 13 sen to RM3.07, Elsoft slipped nine sen to RM3.10 and Apollo dropped five sen to RM4.31.
Oil prices dipped on Monday as concerns over slowing economic growth weighed on markets, Reuters reported.
International Brent crude oil futures were at US$71.78 a barrel, down 5 cents from their last close.
US WTI crude futures were down four cents to US$65.87 a barrel.
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