FBM KLCI stays firm amid volatile regional sentiment

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI stayed positive after a sluggish start as it shrugged off the volatile trading seen in regional equities.

At 12.30pm, the key index was up 3.27 points to 1,637, although the broader domestic market was weighed down by the ongoing rout in the tech sector.

The Bursa Malaysia Technology Index fell 1.78% to 77,82, tracking the ongoing sell-off in US technology firms as investors rotate out of Big Tech following a huge run up in share prices.

However, the selling wasn't confined to just tech with 10 out of the 13 market sectors falling into the red.

Overall, Bursa Malaysia recorded 654 decliners compared to 380 gainers, with 2.67 billion shares traded for a value of RM1.48bil.

Strong gains were seen in benchmark blue chips, especially Press Metal rose nine sen to RM5.59, SD Guuthrie surged 27 sen to RM4.57 and Genting gained three sen to RM4.83.

HSS Engineering climbed 13 sen to RM1.31, Theta Edge rose 13 sen to RM2.46 and Edaran gained 10 sen to RM1.56

Meanwhile, leading market actives were Alpha up one sen to 33.5 sen, JAKS flat at 19 sen and Ekovest down one sen to 56.5 sen.

Elsewhere, key Asian markets were a sea of red with leading benchmarks falling following the recent volatility on Wall Street.

Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.34% to 39,991, and China's composite index fell 0.08% to 2,974.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng dove 2.12% to 17,401. Singapore's Straits Times Index lost 0.81% to 3,443.