KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 4): The FBM KLCI staged a mild rebound at mid-morning on Thursday, but analysts remained wary that sentiment at the broader market was still weak.

At 10.01am, the FBM KLCI added 9.28 points to 1,767.43. The index had earlier climbed to 1,868.81.

The top gainers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, United Plantations Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Pestech International Bhd, IHH Healthcare Bhd, Eastern & Oriental Holdings Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd, Ibraco Bhd, Aeon Credit Services (M) Bhd and GD Express Carrier Bhd.

Hubline Bhd was the most actively traded counter with 57.27 million shares done. The stock was flat at 4 sen.

The other actives included Minetech Resources Bhd, Sumatec Resources Bhd., Bumi Armada Bhd, Perisai Petroleum Teknologi Bhd, KNM Group Bhd, Tiger Synergy Bhd and SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd.

The losers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Genting Plantations Bhd, KKB Engineering Bhd, Bursa Malaysia Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd and Sarawak Plantations Bhd.

Regionally, Asian stocks edged higher on Thursday as fresh signs of resilience in the U.S. economy offset some of the gloom over a weakening global outlook, while the euro wallowed near two-year lows before a much-anticipated European Central Bank meeting,according to Reuters.

Tokyo's Nikkei rose 0.8 percent, with sentiment buoyed by media projections suggesting a strong win for Japanese premier Shinzo Abe's coalition at the Dec. 14 election. A victory for Abe could lead to a new mandate for his "Abenomics" economic policies, it said.

JF Apex Securities Research said U.S. stocks rallied into the close, with the Dow and S&P 500 ending the day at records amid encouraging economic reports on Wednesday.

Similarly, it said European shares closed higher with the expectation of further monetary stimulus by ECB.

“On the local front, the FBM KLCI lost 27.82 points or 1.56% yesterday on the back of foreign selling with concerns on the slump in crude oil, depreciation of Ringgit and challenging economic outlook for next year.

“The local benchmark index could stage a mild rebound today following yesterday’s tumble but sentiment wise still weak as investors will trade cautiously following recent choppy trade.

“Our immediate support level is at 1735 points,” it said.