KUALA LUMPUR: The benchmark FBM KLCI eked a slightly higher at midday after a session of volatile trading as investors searched for fresh leads.
At 12.30pm, the key index was up one point to 1,484 while the overall market was negative with 446 decliners to 367 gainers.
There were 2.03 billion shares traded for a value of RM1.31bil.
On the blue-chip index, YTL Power jumped 24 sen to RM3.61 while YTL Corp added nine sen to RM2.33.
Telekom Malaysia gained four sen to RM5.79, PETRONAS Chemicals added two sen to RM6.90 and PPB gained two sen to RM14.72.
Of actives on the broader market, Hong Seng was flat at two sen, Minetec down one sen to 21 sen and Ekovest up three sen to 57.5 sen.
Regionally, Asian markets remained mostly bullish despite some earlier caution over the escalating conflict in the Red Sea, which sparked a rally in oil prices.
US inflation data that came in slightly above expectations also did little to dampen hopes that the US Federal Reserve will soon begin its rate-cutting cycle.
Japan's Nikkei continued its red-hot rally, rising 1.2% to 35,472 while China's composite index was flat at 2,886.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was unchanged at 16,307 and South Korea's Kospi fell 0.6% to 2,524.
