KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 30): The FBM KLCI gained 0.58% at the midday break today as regional markets staged a rally.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up 9.47 points to 1,612.79.

Gainers led losers by 447 to 255, while 258 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 799.25 million shares valued at RM877.09 million.

The top gainers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Magni-Tech Industries Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, IQ Group Bhd, MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd, IOI Corporation Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd, Guinness Anchor Bhd and MISC Bhd.

The actively traded stocks included The Media Shoppe Bhd, Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd, IFCA MSC Bhd, AirAsia Bhd, Tiger Synergy Bhd, UEM Sunrise Bhd, Aemulus Holdings Bhd and KNM Group Bhd.

The top losers included Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, United Plantations Bhd, MESB Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, Sui Wah Corporation Bhd, Lay Hong Bhd and Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd.

Most Asian stock markets rallied on Wednesday after sliding to three-year lows but concerns lingered over a weak outlook for commodities and China’s economic growth, according to Reuters.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.5% at 0237 GMT after plumbing its lowest since June 2012 on Tuesday on fears that China’s slowdown would curb its huge appetite for commodities and resources, it said.

M & A Securities research head Rosnani Rasul said at this stage, she expects investors to remain cautious and hence, refuse to take big bets especially when equity market is not expected to perform convincingly due to the big overhang in the market, as in the US first interest rate adjustment in six years.

(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.)