KUALA LUMPUR: Trading on the domestic market was range-bound on Wednesday as investors awaited more clarity on the progress of the Iran war.
The FBM KLCI moved in a tight intraday range of 1,699.02 to 1,707.52 points. It ended the morning session at 1,704.35, 2.67 points higher than the previous day's close.
At current levels, the index has reclaimed more than two-thirds of the losses it made earlier this week as a knee-jerk reaction to a surge in crude oil prices sent the market diving 2.55% on Monday.
Some stability has also returned to the broader market as the tickers board registered 454 gainers to 431 decliners.
Intraday volume has returned to a pre-crisis level of 1.4 billion shares valued at RM1.3bil.
With few indications of a swift end to the armed conflict in the Middle East, despite assurances from US President Donald Trump, the sentiment in global stocks markets is expected to remain volatile.
In its market strategy report, Maybank Investment Bank acknowledged the near-term volatility but indicated that Malaysia's domestic sectors are expected to remain resilient.
"We remain bullish on Malaysian equities and stay focused on domestic-centric
sectors and stocks, led by banks, consumer, construction, healthcare and
renewable energy," it said.
Meanwhile, heavyweight banks, which led the FBM KLCI to its breakout in February, continued to retrace higher. Maybank rose 12 sen to RM11.78, CIMB gained 13 sen to RM7.98, Public Bank added two sen to RM4.77, Hong Leong Bank added 12 sen to RM23.10 and RHB Bank
climbed 11 sen to RM8.61.
PETRONAS Dagangan jumped 44 sen to RM21.94 while MISC added 12 sen to RM8.44.
A recovery in Asian market continued as Trump's comments over securing the safety of the Strait of Hormuz eased anxieties over crude oil supply disruptions.
Japan's Nikkei rose 2.51% to 55,611. South Korea's the region's biggest weekly loser, rose 3.53% to 5,727.
China's Shanghai Composite index gained 0.12% to 4,127, the CSI300 rose 0.53% to 4,699 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat at 25,949.
Taiwan's Taiex surged 4.32% to 34,187. Singapore's Straits Times index was fractionally lower at 4,858.
