KUALA LUMPUR (March 26): Late buying before the closing bell lifted the FBM KLCI by 0.23% today amid positive regional sentiment.

On a week-on-week basis, the KLCI, however, shed 1.52% against last week’s closing at 1,626.19.

Today, the benchmark index went up 3.69 points to 1,601.42, from 1,597.73 at yesterday’s close, supported by gains among selective component stocks, such as Digi.Com Bhd, Genting Malaysia Bhd (GenM) and Petronas Gas Bhd (PetGas).

The index opened slightly higher at 1,598.74 today, and traded between 1,593.24 and 1,603.01.

Remisier Jeffry Azizi Jaafar told The Edge he observed that foreign investors returned to the local bourse today.

Across Bursa, trading volume stood at 5.96 billion shares, valued at about RM3.24 billion. Sentiment was positive with gainers outnumbering losers by 695 versus 346, while 460 counters were unchanged.

Gainers by value included Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, KESM Industries Bhd, BLD Plantation Bhd, Seni Jaya Corp Bhd, Rapid Synergy Bhd, Pineapple Resources Bhd and MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd.

Notable losers included Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PetDag), Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem), Gamuda Bhd and Dataprep Holdings Bhd.

Of the actively traded counters, Fintec Global Bhd topped the list with 256.51 million shares done. It closed unchanged at seven sen.

Others included Matang Bhd, Widad Group Bhd, Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX), Komarkcorp Bhd, Saudee Group Bhd, G3 Global Bhd, HB Global Ltd, MMAG Holdings Bhd and KTG Bhd.

Across Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.56%, while South Korea's KOSPI added 1.09%. In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 1.57%, while the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index closed up 1.63%.

Reuters reported that Asian shares bounced back from a three-month low today, thanks to a late-day rally on Wall Street yesterday, as optimism about the global economic recovery was overshadowed by rising tensions between the West and China.