KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 30): The FBM KLCI added 7.78 points or 0.5% to close at 1,693.14, on plantation share gains, amid higher crude palm oil prices.

Earlier, Reuters reported that Malaysian palm oil futures rose for a second session on Wednesday, reaching their highest level in 18 months, on concerns year-end monsoon rains and El Nino-related dryness may lower future output.

At 5pm, plantation shares that were instrumental in nudging up the KLCI included PPB Group Bhd and Sime Darby Bhd, which ended among Bursa Malaysia top gainers.

Besides plantation shares, the KLCI had also risen on gains in shares like Tenaga Nasional Bhd, AMMB Holdings Bhd and Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd.

The KLCI was earlier traded as high as 1,706.25 points. Yesterday (Dec 29), the index rose 14.63 points.

Today, fund managers told theedgemarkets.com that Malaysia's corporate backdrop was on the road to recovery.

Areca Capital Sdn Bhd's chief executive officer Danny Wong Teck Meng said the firm expected consumer spending and corporate earnings here to pick up again, possibly by the second quarter of 2016.

"Right now, Corporate Malaysia needs time to consolidate and digest for the next six months, before consumer spending and earnings pick up again — possibly by the second quarter of 2016 — to be really attractive.”

“The ringgit is stabilising at this level. With the US Federal Reserve already increasing its interest rates and that uncertainty has been removed, investors see that Malaysia is resilient,” Wong said.

Across Bursa Malaysia, there were 1.77 billion shares, valued at RM1.8 billion, traded. Decliners outnumbered gainers at 532 and 390 respectively.

Kim Teck Cheong Consolidated Bhd was the most actively-traded stock.

The biggest gainers included Kumpulan H & L High-Tech Bhd and Petronas Gas Bhd. The biggest decliners included PIE Industrial Bhd and Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd.

In other parts of Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.27%, while South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.25%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.53%.

Reuters reported that Asian shares unwound early gains on Wednesday, as weakness in Chinese stocks continued and investors turned cautious, following renewed selling in recently-battered crude oil futures.

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