Consolidation persists as investors wait out uncertainty

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI was slightly higher at midday as the market continued its consolidation phase amid a volatile global trading landscape.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark index was up 3.91 points to 1,604.70.

Investor sentiment has been bolstered by the reopening of the country's borders, which has helped shore up confidence in equities despite the prospect of aggressive monetary tightening in the US.

Petronas Chemicals was up four sen to RM10.22, Press Metal climbed 13 sen to RM6.25 and IHH rose four sen to RM6.45.

In plantations, Sime Darby Plantation dropped one sne to RM5.24 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong slid six sen to RM26.68 while IOI Corp rose two sen to RM4.36.

Meanwhile, consumer stocks gained on the back of optimism over the retail scene.

Heineken rose 60 sen to RM23.60, Dutch Lady gained 40 sen to RM33 and F&N climbed 20 sen to RM21.48.

Top actives were Brahim's plunging 7.5 sen to four sen, TWL rising 0.5 sen to 8.5 sen and Technax flat at 9.5 sen.

Meanwhile, major Asian markets stayed mostly flat following Wall Street's mild rebound overnight.

Japan's Nikkei, South Korea's Kospi and China's composite index each lost 0.1%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 0.6% while Australia's ASX200 gained 0.5%.