KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 8): The FBM KLCI gained 11.28 points or 0.7% with Asian shares on expectation the European Central Bank (ECB) would today extend its quantitative easing to support the region's economy.

Asian shares also tracked US equities' overnight rise and took the cue from China's better external trade data today.

At Bursa Malaysia today, the KLCI closed at 1,643.75 points at 5pm. Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.45% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was 0.27% higher.

In Malaysia, JF Apex Securities Bhd senior analyst Lee Cherng Wee told  theedgemarkets.com: "The positive sentiment is returning to the market as investors expect stimulus from the ECB.”

Reuters reported that world shares climbed to a near three-month high on Thursday as encouraging China data and a record high Wall Street kept traders upbeat ahead of an expected extension of the ECB's already generous stimulus programme.

China's November imports expanded 6.7% on-year, confounding expectations of a drop of 1.3%. Exports rose 0.1% from a year earlier, defying predictions of a 5% slide.