KUALA LUMPUR: Investors searched for direction on in early Tuesday trade as US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell signalled a more aggressive approach to interest rate hikes moving forward, although escalating commodity prices provided support.

       US markets were subdued overnight as Fed chair Jerome Powell said the federal fund rate could be raised by more than 25bps at future policy meetings if required to rein in soaring inflation.

       Wall Street stocks responded negatively to the news, triggering a 0.6% retreat on the Dow Jones and 0.4% slide on the Nasdaq.

       However, the impact of the announcement was less visible on Bursa Malaysia as rising energy prices continued to shore up sentiment.

       At 9.10am, the FBM KLCI was down 0.81 point to 1,586.35 as Petronas Chemicals surged 39 sen to RM9.79.

       Plantations stocks also shored up the index as CPO prices increased.

       Sime Darby Plantation gained 13 sen to RM5.11, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rose 42 sen to RM25.38 and IOI Corp climbed four sen to RM4.12.

       Press Metal meanwhile dropped 15 sen to RM6.20.

       Bank counters were mixed, with Maybank up one sen to RM8.87, Public Bank down two sen to RM4.61, CIMB falling one sen to RM5.34 and Hong Leong Bank sliding 12 sen to RM20.18.

       Meanwhile, dairy producer Farm Fresh made its debut on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia 35 sen higher than its listing price at RM1.70.

       At the time of writing, the stock was up 43 sen or 31.85% to RM1.78 a share with over 125 million units traded, making it the most active counter on the market.

       Other active stocks include CSH up three sen to 18 sne and Nylex gaining five sen to 51 sen.