KUALA LUMPUR (July 25): The FBM KLCI clawed into positive territory at mid-morning but remained somewhat muted against the backdrop of the positive regional markets.

At 10.05am, the FBM KLCI added 0.11 points to 1,763.04. The index had earlier slipped to a low of 1,760.77.

Gainers led losers by 351 to 231, while340 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.12 billion shares valued at RM537.09 million.

The gainers included United Plantations Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Hong Leong Industries Bhd, Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd, Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd, Perusahaan Sadur Timah Malaysia Bhd, Caring Pharmacy Group Bhd, Atlan Holdings Bhd and Gamuda Bhd.

The actives included Sapura Energy Bhd, Sumatec Resources Bhd, Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd, Velesto Energy Bhd, Cuscapi Bhd, Sino Hua-An International Bhd, Icon Offshore Bhd and WCT Holdings Bhd.

The decliners included Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, ViTrox Corp Bhd, Enra Group Bhd, Padini Holdings Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd and Sime Darby Plantations Bhd.

Asian stocks rode higher on Wednesday thanks to strong U.S. corporate earnings and hopes China will boost fiscal support for its economy, while long-term U.S. yields hovered near six-week highs on speculation the Bank of Japan could be less accommodative, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.17 percent, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research in a traders’ brief said in the US, traders will be monitoring the 2Q GDP that will be releasing this week, as well as earnings from selected companies such as Boeing, which may give market some insights on how companies with overseas business will be affected by President Trump’s tariffs measure.

“Also, the near term volatility is likely to be driven by the ongoing reporting season as well as news flows related to the trade disputes between the US and China.

“While we think (the local) market is still on a short term uptrend condition, upside could be limited as we opine that the recent rally is overheated and could poise for a mild retracement over the near term.

“Also, investors would take a cautious approach in view of a potentially softer August reporting season as well as the ongoing trade concerns,” it said.