KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 26): The FBM KLCI eked out marginal gains at the midday break amidst choppy trade against the backdrop of the the uptrend at most regional markets.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up 0.34 points to 1,684.76.

Gainers led losers by 394 to 360, while 309 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.21 billion shares, valued at RM782.58 million.

The top gainers included Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Bhd, Top Glove Corporation Bhd, Chee Wah Corporation Bhd, Can-One Bhd, Allianz Malaysia Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd and IJM Plantations Bhd.

The actives included Ingenuity Consolidated Bhd, Kim Teck Cheong Consolidated Bhd, KNM Group Bhd, Sumatec Resources Bhd, Frontken Corporation Bhd, RGN International Bhd, Instacom Group Bhd and Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd.

The top losers included Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, BLD Plantation Bhd, Plenitude Bhd, HCK Capital Group Bhd and Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd.

Asian shares advanced on Thursday, while the euro remained under pressure on growing bets the European Central Bank will roll out more stimulus soon, even as the U.S. Federal Reserve looks set to raise interest rates, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6%, after Wall Street put in a nearly flat performance ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, it said.

BIMB Securities Research said the DJI Average closed flat at 17,813.39 (+1.20), ahead of the two-day holiday for Thanksgiving.

It said that in Europe, shares were mostly higer, lifted by the weaker Euro and improved dividend payments.

The research house said that back home, the FBM KLCI closed 7.39 points or 0.44% higher at 1,684.42 points.

“The stronger performance can be attributed to the inflow of foreign funds back into the region.

“Trading participation saw another net foreign inflow, amounting to RM53.2 million yesterday.

“We expect the local market to extend its uptrend, following the improving sentiments on the local bourse of late, coupled with the strengthening of the ringgit now at 4.21. We expect the FBM KLCI to test the 1,690 mark today,” it said.

(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.)