KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 1): The FBM KLCI tracked positive sentiment across Asian share markets amid renewed buying interest in Malaysian oil and gas besides banking shares.

At 5pm, the KLCI gained 0.6% to close at 1,682.37. The KLCI, which surged in the final trading minutes, rose on gains in stocks like SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd and RHB Capital Bhd.

Across Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.75%, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.34% while South Korea's Kospi advanced 1.6%.

Reuters reported that Asian shares were solidly higher on Tuesday, as investors latched on to tentative signs of stabilisation in China even as twin factory surveys highlighted the fragile state of the world's second-largest economy.

In Malaysia, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd technical analyst Loui Low told theedgemarkets.com over telephone that the firm saw buying interest in SapuraKencana and banking-related stocks after the KLCI breached the 1,660 level.

"The market is now on recovery (mode) despite a lower finish on Wall Street overnight," Low said.

Bursa Malaysia saw 549 advancers versus 350 decliners while 296 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 2.31 billion shares valued at RM2.35 billion.

The top gainers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd and RHB Capital, while the leading decliner was Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd. The most-actively traded counter was 1 Utopia Bhd.

(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.)