KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI pulled up into positive territory following a sharp dive in the opening minutes of Friday trade.
At 12.30pm, the index was up 3.67 points to 1,605.54. Trading volume was 1.11 billion shares valued at RM705.66mil. There were 399 decliners versus 261 gainers and 343 counters unchanged.
Price action in Asian markets were volatile in morning trade with most ending near their previous session close at midday.
The US-China trade war continued to develop with US President Donald Trump saying US objections against Huawei may be resolved within the framework of a trade deal, while reiterating that the telco was "very dangerous".
On the home market, Petronas Chemicals rebounded from yesterday's slide, gaining 19 sen to RM8.82.
Petronas Gas was up 36 sen to RM16.66 and Digi advanced 15 sen to RM4.70 to round up the top three KLCI-linked gainers.
With the corporate earnings season in full steam, investors are tuned in to the release of quarterly performances.
Dayang, which posted a slimmer 1Q net loss, rose 2.5 sen to 91.5 sen.
Heineken also showed improved earnings and gained eight sen to RM23.78 while Allianz jumped 18 sen to RM13.36.
Oil prices stabilised following a sharp plunge overnight, which saw Brent lose about 4.5% in a single session.
Now trading under US$70 a barrel levels, Brent recovered 81 cents to US$68.57 a barrel.
US crude also rebounded, retracing 68 sen to US$58.59 a barrel.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was flattish against the US dollar at 4.1920. It was 0.25% lower against the pound sterlingat 5.3073 and 0.1% weaker against the Singapore dollar at 3.0389.
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