KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 4): The FBM KLCI rose 6.79 points or 0.4% on bargain hunting as Asian share markets gained on crude oil prices.

At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,655.29 points, its intraday high. Investors bargain hunted for Malaysian shares today after the KLCI fell 11.73 points yesterday (Aug 3).

Across Asia today, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.07% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.43% as investors eyed crude oil prices and anticipated the Bank of England's interest rate policy.

Reuters reported that the British pound edged lower on Thursday as investors anticipated the Bank of England would cut interest rates to a record low later in the session, while a rebound in oil prices from four-month lows lifted Asian stocks.

Oil, which jumped more than 3% on Wednesday, extended gains in Asian trade on Thursday, as larger-than-expected draw on gasoline stocks in the United States eased concerns about global supply glut.

In Malaysia, TA Securities Holdings Bhd senior technical analyst Stephen Soo told theedgemarkets.com that the stock market was uplifted by positive newsflow from the construction sector.

"The positive newsflow from infrastructure jobs awarded, with the most recent job wins announced for Pan Borneo Highway contract, has reflected positively on the index," Soo said.

Bursa Malaysia saw 2.05 billion shares valued at RM1.53 billion traded. There were 460 gainers and 326 decliners.

Top gainer was Lay Hong Bhd while leading decliner was Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd. The most-active stocks included M3 Technologies (Asia) Bhd and Hubline Bhd.

Among gainers, Green Packet Bhd rose 0.5 sen to 24.5 sen after the company said it acquired a 22% stake Yen Global Bhd. Green Packet saw some eight million shares traded.