KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 11): The FBM KLCI closed up 2.04 points or 0.12% at 1,688.56 on bargain hunting and after Malaysian equities tracked China share gains amid a new round of China-US trade talks.

At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,688.56 after the index fell to its intraday low at 1,681.64. In China, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite closed up 1.36% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.71%. Mainland China shares resumed trading today after a week-long break.

Reuters reported that the Hong Kong stock market closed firmer on Monday, led by a rally in Mainland Chinese shares, as Beijing and Washington launched another round of bilateral trade talks.

It was reported that a new round of trade talks began in Beijing on Monday, with higher-level talks involving US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday and Friday. It was reported that if the negotiations do not progress sufficiently by March 1, the US has said it intends to raise tariffs on US$200 billion of imports from China to 25 percent from 10 percent.

In Malaysia, Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd research head Pong Teng Siew told theedgemarkets.com that liquidity in the market is expected to gradually improve with the help of foreign buying in the KLCI.

“In the next few days, it is very possible that investors will come back to the market, provided we do not get hit by any bad news,” Pong said.

TA Securities Holdings Bhd technical analyst Steven Soo told theedgemarkets.com that despite the KLCI closing in positive territory today, TA is projecting that selling interest will be greater than buying interest in the local market going forward.

Soo said this is mainly due to investors eyeing the progress of the China-US trade talks.