KUALA LUMPIR: The benchmark FBM KCLI clambered back up over the morning session to retrace earier losses.

At 12.30pm, the key index was up 0.13 points to 1,445.34 while the broader market remained negative at 429 decliners compared to 272 gainers.

Trading volume was 1.66 billon shares valued at RM666.75mil.

Bursa Malaysia investors are staying to the sidelines ahead of this weekend’s state elections while inflation data coming out of the US and China later this week are keeping equity markets across the region on a cautious footing.

In Japan, the Nikkei was little changed at 32,179 while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.6% to 2,587. China’s composite index dropped 0.6% to 3,269 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was flat at 19,535.

On the local stock market, bank stocks were mostly unchanged although Hong Leong Bank climbed 22 sen to RM19.80.

There were declines in Tenaga Nasional down four sen to RM9.56, PETRONAS Chemicals falling two sen to RM6.83 and IHH sliding four sen to RM5.97.

Top actives on Bursa Malaysia included Classita down 1.5 sen to 14.5 sen, Sapura Energy shedding 0.5 sen to five sen and Advance Synergy dropping one sen to 17.5 sen.