KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 18): The FBM KLCI rose 1.99 points or 0.1% while the ringgit strengthened, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said the U.S. dollar's strength against the yuan did not bode well for the U.S. economy.
 
The KLCI closed at 1,665.02 points, as Asian share markets rose. Japan's Nikkei 225 increased 0.43%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.13%.

In Malaysia, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd analyst Kenneth Leong told theedgemarkets.com that the KLCI's rise was due to the stronger ringgit against the U.S. dollar today. At 4:48pm, the ringgit strengthened to 4.4443 against the U.S. dollar.

“The KLCI is also up in tandem with regional markets," Leong said.

Bursa Malaysia saw 1.88 billion shares, worth RM1.64 billion traded. There were 431 gainers and 366 decliners. 

World markets took the cue from Trump's U.S. dollar comment. Reuters reported the dollar's recent weakness deepened, after Trump said the greenback's strength against the Chinese yuan "is killing us".

It was reported Asian stock markets stabilised near three-month highs on Wednesday, helped by Hong Kong and Chinese shares, as investors judged Trump's concerns over a stronger dollar to be beneficial to some of the regional bourses.