KUALA LUMPUR: In early trade, the local benchmark index moved higher in tandem with other regional markets after shaving off nearly four points in the previous session.
Asian shares were on the advance on Thursday amid increased expectations of a year-end US rate hike as the US Federal Reserve signalled optimism about the economy.
This comes as current Fed Governor Jerome Powell was chosen by the White House to replace Janet Yellen as chair after the expiry of her term in February.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.1% in early trading, moving back towards a 10-year peak scaled in the previous session.
In the first five minutes of trading, the KLCI was up three points to 1,746.99 points. There were 133.95 million shares traded with a value of RM49.68mil. Advancers outpaced decliners 140 to 88 with 188 counters unchanged.
Gainers on the market included Petronas Gas, which rose 14 sen to RM18.22, and Petronas Dagangan, which gained 10 sen to RM24.20.
British American Tobacoo also gained some ground, rising 14 sen to RM38.38. Meanwhile Genting Plantations added eight sen to RM10.78 while Oetronas
Among decliners, MISC dipped eight sen to RM7, Lotte Chemicals Titan fell five sen to RM5.19 and Tenaga Nasional slipped four sen to RM14.94.
Berjaya Corp
moved upwards on news that major shareholder Tan Sri Vincent Tan had returned to helm the business. It rose 2.5 sen to 35.5 sen.
Ekovest also regained some ground following the previous session's fall, moving up three sen to 98 sen.
Oil prices were relatively flat as US crude inventories fell despite a rise in production even as the Opec-led supply cut continued to tighten the market, Reuters reported.
US light crude was up two cents to US$54.32 a barrel while Brent crude rose 10 cents to US$60.59 a barrel.
In currencies, the ringgit strengthened 0.07% against the greenback to 4.2285 and moved 0.28% higher against the pound sterling at 5.6124. It weakened 0.01% against the Singapore dollar at 3.1098.
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