KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 17): The FBM KLCI rose 2.09% at the midday break tdoay and crossed the 1,680-point level, lifted by gains at key blue chips.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI jumped 35.18 points to 1,682.33.

Gainers outpaced losers by 595 to 185, while 252 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.41 billion shares, valued at RM1.71 billion .

The top gainers included Genting Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Time Dotcom Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd, PPB Group Bhd and Uzma Bhd.

The actively-traded stocks included AirAsia X Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd, AirAsia Bhd, KNM Group Bhd, Xinghe Holdings Bhd, Sumatec Resources Bhd, Privasia Technology Bhd and APFT Bhd.

The decliners included United Plantations Bhd, Lii Hen Industries Bhd, Latitude Tree Holdings Bhd, YSP Southeast Asia Holdings Bhd and Halex Holdings Bhd.

Asian stocks edged up to a three-week high on Thursday, while the dollar drifted lower against other currencies as investors consolidated positions ahead of a nail-biting U.S. Federal Reserve policy decision, according to Reuters.

The U.S. Fed is considering raising U.S. interest rates for the first time since 2006, although economists are split on their expectations. The Fed's decision is due at 1800 GMT, it said.

BIMB Securities Research said key Asian markets closed higher on earlier trading, with strong rally in China, Hong Kong and Japan, as positive U.S. consumer spending buoyed sentiment.

Locally, it said the FBM KLCI gained 7.52 points or 0.46% to 1,647.15, lifted mainly by telco and power stocks.

“Trading participation saw net buying by foreign institutions, while local institutions and retail were net sellers.

“We expect the local market to trend higher today, inspired by the positive lead from U.S. market, with the index hovering in the region 1,650-1,655,” 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.)