KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 16): The FBM KLCI gained 0.66% in the morning session today in line with the advance at most regional markets, lifted by select blue chips.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up 10.84 points at 1,633.68.

The top gainers included Top Glove Corporation Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Bhd, Genting Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Apollo Food Holdings Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd, My E.G. Services (M) Bhd, Guinness Anchor Bhd, Inari Amertron Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd.

The actives included China Automobile Parts Holdings Bhd, Red Sena Bhd, APFT Bhd, Instacom Group Bhd, The Media Shoppe Bhd, Comfort Gloves Bhd and Genetec Technology Bhd.

The decliners included Nestle (M) Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Subur Tiasa Holdings Bhd, Ipmuda Bhd and Eng Kah Corporation Bhd.

Asian stocks gained on Wednesday, with sentiment lifting as Wall Street rose before a likely hike in US interest rates, while the dollar held to large gains made as Treasury yields picked up, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.5%, it said.

BIMB Securities Research said key regional market ended mixed yesterday ahead of the interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve expected this week.

The research house said that in line with the regional market, the FBM KLCI slipped 7.12 points or 0.44% to close at 1,622.84 yesterday.

"Trading participation shows net buying by local institutions and retail while foreign institutions were net sellers.

"We anticipate the index to gain buying interest today following a positive lead from Wall Street and expect the index to hover at around 1,630–1,640," 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.)