KUALA LUMPUR (June 19): The FBM KLCI rose as investors bought beaten-down Tenaga Nasional Bhd shares.

At 5pm, the KLCI rose 3.65 points or 0.2% to close at 1,721.77, partly helped by Tenaga's 26 sen or 2% gain to RM12.86. Tenaga was the sixth-largest gainer across Bursa Malaysia.

The KLCI had pared gains in the final hour of trading after reaching an intraday high of 1,726.98.

“The KLCI rebounded after its fall yesterday, on gains in blue chips like Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd and Tenaga. The stronger performance by the US and Asian markets had also supported the index,” a remisier told theedgemarkets.com.

Yesterday, the KLCI fell 8.74 points or 0.5% to close at 1,718.12. The KLCI had fallen as investors sold down Tenaga shares after Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili said the Cabinet had given its nod for Tenaga's takeover of 1Malaysia Development Bhd power plant.

Tenaga shed 56 sen or 4% to close at RM12.60 to become the biggest decliner on the exchange.

Today, Bursa Malaysia saw 1.72 billion shares worth RM2.42 billion traded. Gainers beat decliners at 489 against 299 while 329 counters were unchanged.

The top gainer was Oriental Food Industries Holdings Bhd, while United Plantations Bhd led decliners. The counter with the highest number of trades was Frontken Corp Bhd.

Certain regional equities were looking up today. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.92% while South Korea’s Kospi and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.25% each.

Mainland China shares, however, fell. Reuters reported that China stocks tumbled on Friday, capping a brutal week that was the worst for main indexes since the global financial crisis as the country's dramatic eight-month bull run appears to be running out of fuel.

The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen plunged 6.0%, to 4,637.05, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 6.4%, to 4,478.36 points.