KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI ended the morning session nearly flat as the bulls made a strong push to erase losses from earlier in the day.
As the market halted for the midday break, the key index was up a marginal 0.05 points to 1,606.71, indicating that investors were not yet ready to give up on the recovery rally that has taken root.
Over the early session, the FBM KLCI traded within a 10-point range of 1,598.30 to 1,608.17.
However, the bulls were mostly confined to the blue-chip index, with investors opting out of lower liners in light of the increased volatility.
The broader market struck a negative mood with 623 decliners compared to 277 gainers, while 11 of the 13 market sectors posted overall declines.
The share turnover was 2.26 billion changing hands for RM1.3bil.
Of the day's leading actives, Cape EMS shed four sen to 46.5 sen, ACE Market debutant Sik Cheong was up 10.5 sen to 37.5 sen and Barakah Offshore remained unchanged at 7.5 sen.
Meanwhile, regional shares were led higher by Japan's bourse after its reopening from a national holiday.
The benchmark Nikkei gained 2.76% to 35,990 as investors were calmed by a steady yen.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.1% to 17,128 and Singapore's Straits Times climbed 0.85% to 3,262.
China's composite index, however, dipped 0.1% to 2,856.
