Kuala lumpur: The Kuala Lumpur rubber market ended mixed on Friday, supported by an uptrend in regional rubber futures markets, said a dealer. He highlighted that the market sentiment was bolstered by expectations of further Chinese stimulus and increased demand from China's tyre industry.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, China has pledged to introduce additional fiscal policy measures to support economic growth amid a slowdown. Furthermore, China's rubber tyre output saw an 8.1 percent increase year-on-year, reaching 102.66 million units in July, indicating stronger downstream demand.

The dealer noted that concerns surrounding the ongoing El Ni±o phenomenon, which could potentially disrupt natural rubber production in major producing regions, along with a weaker ringgit against the US dollar, also lent support to market sentiment. However, he mentioned that easing crude oil prices and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in West Asia limited further gains.

At 3 pm, the trading saw the price of Standard Malaysian Rubber 20 (SMR 20) increase by nine sen to 947.0 sen per kilogramme (kg), while latex in bulk decreased by one sen to 679.5 sen per kg.