KUALA LUMPUR (July 16): The FBM KLCI edged up in early trade this morning but gains were seen limited in line with the slower start at most regional markets.

At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI ws up 1.23 points to 1,723.16.

The early gainers included United Plantations Bhd, Tasek Corp Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd, DiGi.Com Bhd, Globetronics Technology Bhd, Top Glove Corp Bhd, AirAsia Grup Bhd and Supermax Corp Bhd.

Asian shares were lower on Monday, brushing off the firmer Wall Street lead as investor caution dominated ahead of the release of key Chinese economic data, which is expected to show signs of a slowdown, according to Reuters.

But while broader concerns about the U.S.-China trade war continue to temper risk appetite, the absence of any escalation of rhetoric out of Beijing or Washington over the past few days is helping support sentiment, as are strong earnings from industrial firms on Wall Street, it said.

JF Apex Securities Research in a market preview said US markets closed higher with the largest tech companies hit record highs amid the US unveiled tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods earlier last week.

It said that similarly, the European markets ended slightly higher as trade concerns eased.

“On the local market, the FBM KLCI gained 18.36 points higher at 1721.93 points last Friday which was in tandem with most of the regional bourses.

“Following the positive performance in the US and Europe, the FBM KLCI is expected to trend higher with resistance at 1750 points,” it said.