KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 17): The FBM KLCI rose 9.89 points or 0.59% today, led by Genting Bhd and Hartalega Holdings Bhd share price gains and after US equities' overnight rise on Wednesday.
 
At Bursa Malaysia today, the KLCI closed at 1,682.97 at 5pm. Genting Bhd was the biggest gainer in percentage terms, among the 30 KLCI stocks followed by Hartalega. Genting Bhd closed up 40 sen or 6.23% at RM6.82 while Hartalega rose 27 sen or 5.42% to RM5.25.

“There is improving sentiment based on year-to-date net inflow of foreign funds,” Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd research vice president Vincent Lau told theedgemarkets.com.

Overnight in the US, Reuters reported that the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 141.57 points, or 0.59 percent, to 24,207.16, the S&P 500 gained 5.8 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,616.1 and the Nasdaq Composite added 10.86 points, or 0.15 percent, to 7,034.69. It was reported that Wall Street's major indexes hit one-month highs on Wednesday as strong earnings from Bank of America Corp and Goldman Sachs Group Inc boosted investor sentiment.

Today, China economic growth concerns emerged as a key theme for Asian stock markets.

In China, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite closed down 0.42% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.54%. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 0.2%.

Reuters reported that Asian stocks see-sawed through a subdued session on concerns over China's economic outlook, while an anti-climactic end to the latest chapter in the Brexit saga offered sterling a moment's peace.