KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 3): The FBM KLCI rose in early trade this morning, lifted by gains at Public Bank Bhd and other select blue chips.

At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI was up 2.61 points to 1,780.74.

The early gainers included United Plantations Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd, MISC Bhd, Taliworks Corp Bhd, Public Bank Bhd and Genting Malaysia Bhd.

Asian stocks were steady on Friday, with gains from the tech-led rise on Wall Street capped by the latest exchange of trade threats between Beijing and Washington, while safehaven flows lifted the dollar to a two-week high, according to Reuters.

Investors also remain cautious ahead of the July U.S. jobs report due later on Friday, which will give a reading on the health of the world's largest economy and possible clues about the pace of Federal Reserve interest rate rises, it said.

JF Apex Securities Research in a market preview said US markets ended mixed with the S&P and Nasdaq rising as Apple shares hit record high while the Dow closed flat.

It said that earlier, European stocks tumbled after the Bank of England raised interest rates.

“On the local market, the FBM KLCI plunged 10.18 points to 1778.13 points on trade war concerns.

“Following the overnight mixed performance in the US and Europe, the FBM KLCI could hover sideways below the resistance level of 1800 points,” it said.