KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): The FBM KLCI rose 6.9 points or 0.37% to close at 1,870.37 today on expectations of improved corporate results.

The benchmark index was boosted by buying interest in selective heavyweights such as Genting Bhd, Genting Malaysia Bhd and Sime Darby Bhd, as well as a last minute surge in KLCC Stapled Group.

Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng said the buying interest was due to investors’ expectations of better corporate results compared to last year. This is despite the slower growth reported in China’s manufacturing sector in April.

“Looking at the corporate results, it’s quite good on the US side and globally,” Wong told the theedgemarkets.com.

“With the Korean tension easing off, and US President Donald Trump no longer tweeting about the trade tension, investors will focus on the fundamentals, which include corporate earnings,” Wong said.

Bursa Malaysia saw 1.71 billion shares worth RM1.84 billion traded today. The broader market was mixed with 401 gainers, 411 losers, and 406 other counters unchanged.

The day’s top gainer was KLCC Stapled Group which rose 39 sen or 5.28% to RM7.78, for a market capitalisation of RM13.41 billion.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi grew 0.92%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.74%.

Reuters reported that Asian shares extended gains today as tensions in the Korean Peninsula eased and first-quarter earnings shone, although some investors were cautious about the outlook amid the backdrop of a simmering US-China trade dispute.

Liquidity was low with Japan, China and India on holiday and much of Asia to be closed tomorrow for Labour Day.