KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI sat stubbornly on the start line on Wednesday even as relief over a trade deal struck between Japan and the US helped pull up Asian equities prices.

While investors had been hoping for the deal between the world's largest and fourth-largest economies to give Bursa Malaysia an early-morning push, the market's main index eked out a meagre 2.28-point increase to 1,521.68 after days of weak investor sentiment.

The mild gain on the market was owing an increase in Hong Leong Bank, adding 14 sen to RM19.14, Tenaga Nasional rising four sen to RM13.82 and Telekon climbing five sen to RM6.75.

This was mostly offset by Public Bank, down two sen to RM4.29, PETRONAS Dagangan shaving 18 sen to RM21.10 and Gamuda dropping two sen to RM5.17.

Contributing to the weak broader market sentiment, there remain headwinds in the form of trade uncertainties and the absence of fresh buying leads.

However, there are pockets of trading opportunities for investors. "While short-term sentiment is still developing, value-seeking investors may continue to support the market through selective accumulation," said Rakuten Trade in its morning note.

Among actively traded stocks, NexG rose one sen to 51.5 sen, Enpro gained 1.5 sen to 28 sen and PRG was up 0.5 sen to 9.5 sen.