KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI swung to the upside in morning trade as US President Donald Trump's latest comments coaxed a rebound in global markets.
At 12.30pm, the local index was up 14.42 points to 1,613.61. Trading volume was 1.48 billion shares valued at RM821.73mil. Gainers outpaced decliners 496 to 209 while 324 counters were unchanged.
KLCI-linked counters dominated the biggest gainers by percentage on Bursa Malaysia as investors flocked to blue chips amid the volatile trading environment.
Dialog struck higher following a better-than-expected earnings announcement, leading the stock 23 sen higher to RM3.30.
Telcos also showed positive momentum with Axiata rising 13 sen to RM4.43 and Digi gaining 13 sen to RM4.70.
Meanwhile glove makers continued to trend higher as observers expects the fresh trade tariffs on Chinese imports to offer upsides to local manufacturers.
Top Glove gained 20 sen to RM4.98 while Hartalega
rose 19 sen to RM5.18.
Among financial stocks, Hong Leong Financial Group led with an 18 sen advance to RM19.
Trump was seen tempering his rethoric on the trade negotiations with China, suggesting that productive dialogue was still ongoing.
This was the impetus for markets to rebound with the Shanghai Composite Index rising 1.1% and the CSI300 adding 1.35%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.7%.
Japan's Nikkei was more cautious, adding only 0.2% while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.5%.
Rising stockpiles in the US triggered a fall in crude oil prices despite growing turmoil in the Middle East that threatened supply.
US crude fell 46 cent sto US$61.33 a barrel and Brent crude dropped 28 cents to US$70.96 a barrel.
In currencies, the ringgit slipped 0.1% against the US dollar to 4.1740 and Singapore dollar 3.0500. It rose 0.25% against the pound sterling to 5.3889.
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