KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 31): The FBM KLCI climbed 5.74 points or 0.36% to settle at 1,585.74 at Bursa Malaysia's afternoon close today as local stocks tracked Asian share gains after the US cut interest rates on Wednesday.

US rate cuts bode well for Asian assets like currencies, stocks and bonds in anticipation of capital flow into these higher-yielding instruments.

Across Bursa at 12:30pm today, 1.41 billion shares were traded for RM876.27 million. Top gainers included KLCI components Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd.

Today, Malaysian and Asian equities tracked US shares' overnight rise on Wednesday. Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd wrote in a note today the positive performance of US shares at Wall Street due to the interest rate cut, could support the sustained gains of the KLCI.

Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd wrote in a note today that following US shares' overnight positive sentiment, the KLCI could rise as buying interest may spill over to stocks on the local front.

"Although (Malaysian) market participants may deploy a risk-on mode in equities, trading sentiment will also depend on the upcoming November reporting season should there be any negative surprises from the corporate earnings," Hong Leong said.

Globally, Reuters reported that the US Federal Reserve had on Wednesday (Oct 30) lowered its policy rate to 1.50%-1.75%, but dropped a previous reference in its statement to "act as appropriate" to sustain the economic expansion.

It was reported that Asian shares jumped on Thursday to a three-month high and the US dollar fell broadly after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates as expected and US Treasury yields declined. It was reported that US stock futures edged 0.01% higher on Thursday in Asia after the S&P 500 rose 0.33% to close at a record high on Wednesday for the second time in three trading sessions.