KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI rebounded after the previous session's heavy losses, and defying the steep decline on Wall Street as tech stocks dragged on investor sentiment.

       At 9.05am, the key index was up 2.96 points to 1,534.26. The overall market however stayed slightly negative with 141 decliners compared with 122 gainers.

       Bank stocks regained some ground after leading losses in the previous session. Maybank rose one sen to RM8.97, Public Bank gained three sen to RM4.53 while Hong Leong Bank was unchanged at RM21.12 and CIMB was down one sen to RM4.94.

       In plantations, Kuala Lumpur Kepong climbed 32 sen to RM26.24, IOI rose four sen to RM4.16 and Sime Darby Plantation dipped one sen to RM5.01.

       The Bursa Malaysia Technology Index stayed firm despite the Nasdaq's sharp losses overnight as Snapchat-owner Snap plummeted on weak earnings results.

       Stocks that gravitated lower included Green Tech falling three sen to RM3.67, Vitrox dropping three sen to RM7.13 and D&O Green Technologies shedding two sen to RM3.68.

       Top actives on the market included Sapura Energy unchanged at 8.5 sen, KNM up one sen to 16.5 sen and Serba Dinamik flat at 10 sen.