KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 23): The FBM KLCI hovered above the 1,710-point level at the midday break today and looked set to close in positive territory on Budget 2016 day.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up 7.12 points at 1,712.21. The index had earlier climbed to its intra-morning high of 1,717.49.

Gainers led losers by 418 to 280, while 332 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.39 billion shares valued at RM871.10 million.

The top gainers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Oriental Interest Bhd, Kobay Technology Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Can-One Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Brahim's Holdings Bhd, Suiwah Corporation Bhd and Carlsberg Brewery (M) Holdings Bhd.

The actives included XOX Bhd, The Media Shoppe Bhd, XiDeLang Holdings Bhd, KNM Group Bhd, Frontken Corporation Bhd, Sumatec Resources Bhd, China Automobile Parts Holdings Bhd and AirAsia Bhd.

The losers included SAM Engineering & Equipment Bhd, Shangri-La Hotels (Malaysia) Holdings Bhd, TSR Capital Bhd, BIMB Holdings Bhd and Vitrox Corporation Bhd.

Asia extended a global stocks rally on Friday after the European Central Bank (ECB) signaled its readiness to inject more stimulus, helping the dollar scale a fresh two-month peak against the euro, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1.6%, and set for a gain of 0.8% for the week, it said.

BIMB Securities said the key regional indexes finished mixed yesterday over concerns about China's economy but poised for a leg-up today, tracking sharp offshore gains following hints of new stimulus from the ECB.

Back home, it said the FBM KLCI closed flat, ended 2.02 points or 0.1% lower at 1,705.09 dragged down by gloves and banking counters.

"Trading participation saw strong support by local institution with 54.5% participation in the market and value traded at around RM31.7 million.

"We expect the market to gain buying interest today following a positive lead from Wall Street and pre-budget announcement but likely to see a series of profit-taking post-budget announcement.

"We expect the index to hover at around 1,705–1,710," 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.)