KUALA LUMPUR: The local market rebounded in morning trade on Tuesday, ahead of polling for the general election the next day.
However, trading volume remained subdued as investors await the announcement of the nation's leadership.
Meanwhile, Asian markets were mostly higher on upbeat earnings from the technology sector.
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was 13.4 points higher to 1,841.60. Turnover was 1.12 billion with a value of RM911.7mil. There were 464 gainers versus 306 decliners and 329 counters unchanged.
CIMB took the lead on the index, rising 23 sen to RM6.90. Nestle also saw healthy gains, adding RM4.70 to RM139.80.
Meanwhile, Maybank put on eight sen to RM10.62, Public Bank rose eight sen to RM23.78 and RHB gained 19 sen to RM5.28.
Genting climbed 18 sen to RM8.68 while Genting Malaysia added 13 sen to RM5.12.
Among decliners, Maxis shaved 10 sen to RM5.48, IOI lost two sen to RM4.67 and MISC slipped one sen to RM7.05.
Fibre optics manufacturer Opcom was in the spotlight on Tuesday as it surged 20 sen to 64.5 sen, hitting its highest since May 2016 on expectations of better prospects ahead of polling day.
Dutch Lady
moved 28 sen higher to RM66.78, United Plantations put on 22 sen to RM26.94 and Shangri-La Hotels added 20 sen to RM5.80.
Headed lower, F&N lost 62 sen to RM34.14, CCM slid nine sen to RM1.90 and Heineken gave up 20 sen to RM20.26.
Oil markets slipped back on Tuesday as US President Donald Trump is due to make an announcement on whether the US will resume sanctions on Iran. WTI crude fell 82 cents to US$69.91 a barrel while Brent crude dropped 74 cents to US$75.43.
In currencies, the ringgit continued its slide against the rising dollar, weakening 0.12% to 3.9495. It also slipped 0.22% against the pound sterling at 5.3513 and 0.1% against the Singapore dollar at 2.9544
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
