KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia rebounded as equities markets calmed somewhat after US President Donald Trump hit pause on proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
The FBM KLCI rose 3.4 points to 1,557.03 as the start of Tuesday trading.
However, the market is expected to remain wary of the prospect of a trade war breaking out between the US and its major trading partners.
In view of the heightened volatility in equities, Rakuten Trade said funds are shifting to safe asset classes, especially gold where prices have surged past USD2,800/oz.
"For today, we anticipate the index to hover within the 1,550-1,560 range as investors may prefer to stay sidelined while waiting for prevailing chaos to dissipate," it said in a note.
Meanwhile, Trump has proceeded to impose an additional 10% tariff on Chinese exports, including rubber medical and surgical glove shipments to the US.
Malacca Securities Research said the development should bode well for local glove counters, which have rallied in light of the news.
The research firm added that the recent pullback in construction counters offers a significant discount to prospective investors looking to capitalise on the JS-SEZ initiatives and ongoing data centre developments in the country.
On Bursa Malaysia, leading laggards were Nestle down 76 sen to RM89.04, Hong Leong Bank down 10 sen to RM20.18 and PETRONAS Chemicals shaving nine sen to RM4.32.
F&N was seen rising 36 sen to RM25.56 following its results announcement yesterday.
Guan Chong jumped 19 sen to Rm4.42 while Sunway Construction gained nine sen to RM3.59.
Of actives, Harvest Miracle rose 1.5 sen to 20 sen, Oriental Kopi gained one sen to 86.5 sen, Compugates was flat at 1.5 sen and YTL Power was up one sen to RM3.06.
