KUALA LUMPUR: The benchmark FBM KLCI maintained its rally above the 1,500-point level as investor nerves eased amid talk of de-escalation in the tariff conflict.
At the lunch break, the main index as up 5.47 points to 1,506.66, returning to its highest level since the day before US President Trump announced his Liberation Day tariffs on April 4.
Nevertheless, gains on the market are expected to be capped as investors remain on high alert given the continued uncertainty and headlines-driven volatility
In the early session, the advancing issues on the market outnumbered the decliners 1.14-to-1. There was a muted traded volume of 1.7 billion, which changed hands for RM924.52mil.
CIMB led gains on the blue-chip index, rising 12 sen to RM6.97, while rival bank heavyweight Hong Leong Bank jumped 14 sen to RM19.80.
PETRONAS Gas climbed 16 sen to RM16.82, Press Metal
climbed five sen to RM6.55 and Sunway gained eight sen to RM4.45.
In regional markets, the result was more mixed as Chinese stocks weighed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 1.21% to 21,805 and Shanghai's composite index slipped 0.1% to 3,292.
Japan's Nikkei rose 0.55% to 35,059 while Singapore's Straits Times index gained 0.25% to 3,841.
