KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 22): The FBM KLCI closed up 3.16 points or 0.2% at 1,574.09 today, tracking Asian share gains, folllowing US shares' overnight rise at Wall Street. World equities took cue from the positive development in US-China trade talks.

At 5pm, the KLCI closed up at its intraday high at 1,574.09 on bargain hunting after falling to its intraday low at 1,567.70.

Reuters reported Asian shares made guarded gains on Tuesday amid optimism about prospects for a Sino-US trade deal, while investors were sanguine that yet another vote on Brexit would still avert a hard exit for Britain.

China and the US have achieved some progress in their trade talks, Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng was quoted as saying on Tuesday, adding as long as both sides respect each other, no problem is unresolveable.

It was reported that US President Donald Trump sounded upbeat on a China deal on Monday, while White House adviser Larry Kudlow said tariffs on Chinese goods scheduled for December could be withdrawn, if talks go well.

In Malaysia today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Victor Wan said: “We’re seeing a rotational play into small-cap (companies), particularly into technology-linked stocks recently, as it was one of the biggest beneficiary sectors under the Budget 2020 announcement.

Having said that, Wan said many small-cap stocks have hit “overbought” levels that could potentially lead to profit-taking. Bursa Malaysia's small-cap index closed down 43.02 points or 0.32% at 13,533.31.

Across Bursa, 3.29 billion shares were traded for RM2.1 billion. Top gainers included KLCI stocks Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd and Petronas Gas Bhd.

Top active stocks included Bumi Armada Bhd and IFCA MSC Bhd. Bumi Armada closed down eight sen or 16.67% at 40 sen, with some 585 million units traded, to become Bursa's most active stock.