KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): The FBM KLCI rose 0.67% at the midday break today and is poised to close above the 1,650-point level before the long weekend.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up 11.16 points at 1,654.42 points.

Gainers led losers by 435 to 317, while 309 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 867.25 million shares valued at RM668.72 million.

The top gainers included SAM Engineering & Equipment Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd, Magni-Tech Industries Bhd, Success Transformer Corporation Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd and Maxis Bhd.

The actively traded stocks included SMTrack Bhd, Asia Media Bhd, Instacom Group Bhd, Karambunai Corporation Bhd, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, Frontken Corporation Bhd and XOX Bhd.

The top losers included Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Top Glove Corporation Bhd, P.I.E. Industrial Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Bhd, Lay Hong Bhd and Negri Sembilan Oil Palms Bhd.

Asia shares edged higher on Wednesday following a modest bounce on Wall Street, while the dollar drifted lower and oil found some relief from recent relentless selling, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan ticked up 0.4% to the highest in almost two weeks. Australia's main index added 0.7%, while South Korea firmed 0.5%, it said.

BIMB Securities Research said that in Asia, markets ended mostly higher yesterday following the Wall Street's overnight performance.

"Locally, the FBM KLCI surged 14.17 points or 0.87% to 1,643.26, supported by heavyweight stocks.

"Trading participation shows net selling by local institutions while foreign institutions and local retail were net buyers.

"We expect the local market to trend sideways with the index hovering around 1,640–1,650," 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.)