KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): The FBM KLCI rose 0.5% in early trade this morning and crossed the 1,870-point threshold briefly following the firm overnight gains at Wall Street and most global markets.

At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI was up 9.01 points or 0.48% to 1,869.09.

The early gainers included Ajinomot (M) Bhd, Muda Holdings Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Asi File Corp Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd and Nestle (M) Bhd.

Asian shares extended their recovery on Tuesday, hitting a three-week high as U.S. borrowing costs eased ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's highly-anticipated first congressional testimony later in the day, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 percent, building on its bounce from a two-month low touched on Feb 9, it said.

JF Apex Securities Research in a market preview said US markets surged overnight following gains in telecommunication, technology and banking counters as interest rate stabilised.

It said that earlier, European stocks also advanced after being led by basic resources, technology and telecommunication companies.

“On the local market, the FBM KLCI shed 1.42 points to 1860.08 points.

“Following the bullish performance in the US and Europe, the FBM KLCI is expected to rise towards its resistance of 1880 points,” it said.