KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 8): The FBM KLCI pared some of its gains at the midday break today as profit taking limited its advance.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up 4.50 points to 1,693.75. The index had earlier risen to a high of 1,701.21.

The top gainers included UMW Holdings Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd, Axiata Group Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Globetronics Technology Bhd, UEM Edgenta Bhd, Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd and LPI Capital Bhd.

The actively traded stocks included KNM Group Bhd, IFCA MSC Bhd, China Automobile Parts Holdings Bhd, Perisai Petroleum Teknologi Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd and Sumatec Resources Bhd.

The top losers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Genting Plantations Bhd, Lafarge Malaysia Bhd, Rapid Synergy Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, Top Glove Corporation Bhd and Gamuda Bhd.

China stocks surged on Thursday after a week-long break as they tried catching up to a global rally, while most regional markets stepped back with Japanese equities hitting the skids on weak data, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.3%. The index was on track to snap a six-day winning streak that took it to a 1½-month peak this week, propelled by a global surge in risk appetite as expectations of the US Federal Reserve hiking interest rates this year ebbed.

Affin Hwang Capital Research said the local market was expected to continue consolidating sideways with light upward bias while hoping Budget 2016 will give a handful of positive catalysts.

"Sluggish job growth in the US may lead to prolonged low interest rate regime globally — bullish for stocks.

"Technically, the FBM KLCI is still on a short-term bullish mode but with minor signals of slowdowns in the underlying momentum," 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.)