KUALA LUMPUR: Investors were seen arresting the decline on the FBM KLCI after seven straight days of profit-taking as tensions in the Middle East ease amid ongoing US-Iran negotiations.
According to Apex Securities, easing oil prices and improving optimism surrounding potential U.S.-Iran negotiations may provide some support to risk appetite.
Brent crude futures for July delivery hovered just under US$105 a barrel, dropping off the high of US$112 a barrel seen earlier this week.
Nevertheless, the research firm cautioned that market volatility may persist given lingering inflationary and geopolitical risks.
"Against this backdrop, we expect rotational interest into defensive and yield-driven sectors to continue, while technology sentiment may remain selective amid ongoing AI-related volatility. Domestically, we expect the FBM KLCI to remain range-bound amid cautious regional sentiment and continued foreign fund outflows," it said in its market outlook.
At 9.13am, the FBM KLCI was up 3.61 points to 1,711.97, a mild rebound following a steady decline that brought the index to its lowest point in a month.
Of leading blue chips, PETRONAS Chemicals climbed 18 sen to RM5.63, Press Metal
rose seven sen to RM8.95, and Telekom Malaysia added nine sen to RM7.43.
Among actives, Gold Li was flat at 12 sen, HHRG dropped 2.5 sen to eight sen and GIIB was unchanged at 39.5 sen.
