KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 12): The FBM KLCI rose 3.78 points or 0.2% as investors bargain hunted for beaten-down stocks following the index's 20.02-point decline yesterday.

At 5pm today, the KLCI closed at 1,641.37 points. The increase was supported by gains in stocks like AMMB Holdings Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Axiata Group Bhd and DiGi.Com Bhd.

Across Asian share markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 2.71%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.89% while South Korea's Kospi was down 0.21%.

Reuters reported that Asian stocks held near four-year lows and crude oil prices approached a 20% drop in less than two weeks as investors worried over the extent of China's economic slowdown and its impact on emerging markets.

In Malaysia, Areca Capital chief executive officer Danny Wong told theedgemarkets.com that the firm expected the KLCI to remain volatile in the near term.

Wong said the index would still be volatile in the near term mainly due to external factors such as China's economic growth concerns and crude oil prices.

"The KLCI saw a slight rebound after its 20-point decline yesterday. The index saw bigger gains in the morning, but pared gains later in the day, in line with declines seen regionally," Wong said.

Crude oil prices at near US$30 a barrel today do not bode well for the ringgit as the commodity forms a crucial component of the Malaysian economy and government revenue.

According to Bloomberg, Brent crude oil fell to US$30.92 per barrel while US oil was down at US$30.67.

The ringgit weakened to 4.4140 against the US dollar at about 5pm.

Across Bursa Malaysia, 1.8 billion shares worth RM2.12 billion were exchanged. Decliners beat gainers at 470 against 384 while 390 counters were unchanged.

British American Tobacco (M) Bhd led gainers while United Plantations Bhd was the top decliner. The most-actively traded stock was Instacom Group Bhd.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)