KUALA LUMPUR (July 24): The FBM KLCI rose 0.24% at mid-morning today, tracking regional gains, lifted by select blue chips.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI gained 4.22 points to 1,762.18.

Gainers led losers by 394 to 199, while 305 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 887.88 million shares valued at RM478.54 million.

The top gainers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Radiant Globaltech Bhd (Radiant), ViTrox Corp Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bdh, Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd, Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd, Petron Malaysia Bhd and Petronas Gas Bhd.

The actives included Radiant, Cuscapi Bhd, Sino Hua-An International Bhd, My E.G. Services Bhd, SKH Consortium Bhd, Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd and Revenue Group Bhd.

The decliners included KESM Industries Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Ken Holdings Bhd and New Hoong Fatt Holdings Bhd.

Asian stocks climbed Tuesday, after their U.S. counterparts closed higher and as rising yields boosted financials. Ten-year Treasury yields held around the highest level in more than a month, according to Bloomberg.

Equity benchmarks in Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney opened higher, while futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng showed a modest gain. Treasuries held losses from the past two days, with the declines coinciding with speculation that the Bank of Japan may consider fine-tuning its stimulus programs -- a reminder that the direction of major central banks is toward taking back quantitative easing. Higher longer-dated bond yields in turn has boosted bank and insurance shares. Elsewhere, crude oil held below $68 a barrel in New York, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research in a traders’ brief said on Wall Street, investors could be trading on a cautious tone ahead of the 2Q US GDP that will be announced later this week.

“Moreover, should there be any negative comments coming from President Trump on the trade disputes, we may expect a weaker buying interest within the stock markets.

“Tracking the positive Nasdaq on Wall Street, we think the current bullish rebound on the FBM KLCI and technology-related stocks may extend this week ahead of the reporting season.

“Nevertheless, the lingering trade concerns between the US and China may limit the upside potential of the KLCI, capping around the 1,770-1,800 levels,” it said.