KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI rose cautiously on Friday following a mixed performance on Wall Street as US President Donald Trump offered no concrete resolution in his recent televised speech on ending the Middle East conflict.
Meanwhile, the US has introduced sweeping tariff measures, including up to 100% on patented drugs, alongside a 20% levy on firms committing to onshoring that rises to 100% over four years.
Apex Research said the Malaysian market is likely to stay cautious against this backdrop. It said energy will remain supported by firm oil prices, while export-oriented and manufacturing sectors face headwinds from weaker demand and rising cost pressures.
"The FBM KLCI has rebounded back into its prevailing uptrend channel, suggesting that the broader bullish structure remains intact despite recent volatility.
"This indicates that the recent weakness was likely a healthy consolidation within the ongoing uptrend. Key support is seen at 1,695, with a break below this level potentially reigniting selling pressure, said the research firm in its report.
At Friday's open, the FBM KLCI was up 5.82 points to 1,704.12, returning above the 1,700 psychological level.
There was strong rally in Nestle, which climbed RM1.94 to RM100.80. Bank stocks crept higher, with Maybank adding four sen to RM11.50, Hong Leong Bank adding 12 sen to RM22.12 and CIMB gaining two sen to RM7.60.
Top actives on the market were TWL unchanged at 2.5 sen, Bintai Kinden
, flat at 9.5 sen and Handal up one sen to four sen.
Regional markets opened with some bargain-hunting after the prevoius day's furious sell-off. South Korea's Kospi led gains, gaining 3.11% to 5,396 while Japan's benchmark Nikkei rose 1.34% to 53,158.
