KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI rebounded in the early session, but remained at a sharp loss for the week following the previous day's sell-off.
Wall Street futures are pointing to a flattish performance at the time of writing, suggesting investors remained reluctant to return to tech shares after the overnight plunge.
In Asian markets, there continued to be selling pressure with Japan's and China's markets in negative territory, and South Korea's rebound losing steam.
At 12.30pm, Malaysia's benchmark index was up 8.72 points to 1,688.64. With the previous day's decline, the index is at risk of completing a bearish technical pattern, said Apex Securities.
"A decisive break below the neckline support at 1,675 could confirm the bearish reversal pattern and trigger further downside pressure, potentially leading to a deeper corrective phase. Immediate resistance is seen at 1,700," it said in its market outlook.
Shares that led the index higher in the morning session included IHH up 22 sen to RM8.78, Nestle gaining 32 sen to RM95.32, Hong Leong Bank adding 26 sen to RM21.98 and Maybank rising six sen to RM10.90.
Investor sentiment on the broader market, however, remained dismal. There were 470 declining issues compared with 396 advancing. Trading volume was 1.47 billion shares valued at RM984.07mil.
Nearly all sectors on the market were positive, excluding transport and logistics.
Healthcare services were the most improved, rising 1.44%, while financial services gained 0.44% and technology stocks rose 0.39%.
Among the most active counters, Malton jumped six sen to 32 sen, AirAsia X
dropped two sen to RM1.29 and Top Glove rose two sen to 71 sen.
