KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI was nearly flat entering midday as investors were reluctant to get behind a weak morning rally.

       A raft of corporate earnings results are due over the remaining days of November, setting nerves on edge as many companies are expected to have been badly hit by the business shutdown in 3Q.

       Meanwhile, there was also some political anxiety as the Melaka state election will be decided at its polling day tomorrow.

       At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up 1.12 points to 1,524.91, driven higher by Press Metal , telcos and bank counters.

       Press Metal rose nine sen to RM5.64, its highest in three weeks as it rebounded on the back of easing energy prices.

       In telcos, Axiata rose 15 sen to RM3.98, Maxis gained three sen to RM4.50 and Digi was up nine sen to RM4.26.

       Banks also advanced with Maybank adding three sen to RM8.07, Public Bank gaining two sen to RM4.07, CIMB rising three sen to RM5.11 and Hong Leong Bank putting on six sen to RM18.30.

       On the broader market, there was a negative market breadth with 473 decliners versus 352 gainers.

       Semiconductor stocks were bolstered by the US Nasdaq's record performance overnight as chipmaker Nvidia posted strong earnings.

       KESM surged 82 sen to RM12.84 while MPI climbed 22 sen to RM48.02 and Unisem rose 14 sen to RM4.40.

       AirAsia remained in the spotlight, with rapid turnover of 75.93 million shares making it the second most heavily traded stock. The low-budget airline lost seven sen to RM1.06.

       Sister airline AirAsia was also heavily traded with 23.73 million shares exchanging hands, stayed put at eight sen per share.

       PDZ topped the most active list with 83.88 million shares traded, but also stayed at its reference price of 6.5 sen.

       Meanwhile, regional markets stayed mostly positive despite a sharp sell-off in Hong Kong following disappointing earnings from China's e-commerce giant Alibaba, which sparked worries over the impact of Beijing's regulatory crackdown.

       Hong Kong's Hang Seng plunged 1.8% on selling in tech shares although China's mainland composite index added 0.3%.

       Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's Kospi each rose 0.5%. Australia's ASX200 gained 0.2%.