KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): The FBM KLCI hovered above the 1,690-level at mid-morning today, amid some choppy trade as regional markets stayed anxious.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI added 1.99 points to 1,690.44. The inde had briefly drifted to a low of 1,686.90.

Gainers led losers by 221 to 217, while 274 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 520.77 million shares valued at RM223.99 million.

The gainers included Muda Holdings Bhd, SAM Engineering & Equipment Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Scientex Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd and Lafarge Malaysia Bhd.

The actives included Barakah Offshore Bhd, V.S. Industry Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd and Ucrest Bhd.

The decliners included Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, United Plantations Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, Gamuda Bhd and Axiata Group Bhd.

Asian stocks got off to a cautious start on Thursday as investors remained nervous amid a looming deadline for Washington's proposed tariffs on Chinese imports, leaving financial markets in a state of anxious uncertainty, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.03 percent after declining 0.4 percent the previous day, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research in a traders’ brief said in the US, traders are likely to maintain its cautious trading tone amid the prolong trade spats episode.

“Nevertheless, we believe that the recent trade development could have priced into the stock markets and remain cautiously optimistic on the overall market sentiment that the oversold Dow could be due for a technical rebound over the near term

“On the local front, we think the recovery in broader market is likely to sustain as most of the oversold sectors are showing signs of rebound.

“Also, we have noticed milder foreign outflows over the past two trading days, which is a healthy sign for supporting the recovering trend,” it said.