KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI ended Wednesday's trading session higher as Asian markets surged on upbeat global earnings reports and a bullish mood lent by Wall Street's record closes the previous night.
The local benchmark index closed 2.86 points or 0.17% higher at 1,723.54 points, erasing some gains made during the morning trade but reviving optismism that the market was rebounding from recent selling pressure.
Turnover was 2.24 billion shares with a value of RM2.61bil. There were 521 advancers versus 304 decliners and 465 counter unchanged.
The positive sentiment was seen across key regional markets, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closing at 30,003.49 points, bringing it to a decade-high.
China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 20.05 points to 3,430.55 points on the strength of banking and energy shares. The CSI 300 Index gained a quarter percent.
In Japan, the Nikkei ended half a percent higher at 22.523.15 points ahead of a national holiday on Thursday.
Taiwan's Taiex was 0.4% higher at 10,822.59 points while Singapore's Straits Time Index gained a quarter percent to 3,432.75 points.
Back home, the KLCI was brought higher by Genting, which rose 21 sen to RM9.29 and Genting Malaysia, which gained 16 sen to RM5.06.
Petronas Chemicals also lifted, adding seven sen to RM7.30 while IOI Corp put on seven sen to RM4.55. Petronas Dagangan rose 56 sen to RM23.86 and Hong Leong Financial Group added 20 sen to RM16.
Leading decliners on the index included Petronas Gas, which dropped 42 sen to RM16.72, and MISC, which slipped eight sen to RM7.16. PPB Group dropped 22 sen to RM16.66 while Telekom Malaysia dipped 15 sen to RM6.
Among gainers on the wider market, Hartalega
surged 61 sen to RM9.25 and Kossan rose 22 sen to RM8.15. Refiner Hengyuan added 58 sen to RM10.40.
Laggards included DKSH, falling 23 sen to RM4.20 and Genetec Technology, slipping 14 sen to RM1.04.
In commodities, crude oil prices rose as US inventories dipped and traders looked forward to further commitment to supply cuts by Opec.
US light oil rose US$1.08 to US$57.91 a barrel while Brent crude added 69 cents to US$63.26 a barrel.
The ringgit continued to rise against major currencies, moving 0.66% stronger against the greenback at 4.1125. It strengthened 0.6% against the pound sterling at 5.4511 and 0.32% against the Singapore dollar at 3.0440.
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