KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 4): The FBM KLCI rose in early trade on Thursday, in line with the general uptrend at most regional markets.

The FBM KLCI rose 1.79 points to 1,866.66 at 9am.

The top gainers included United Plantations, HLFG, Petronas Dagangan, PPB, Country View, SYF Resources, Southern Steel, Goh Ban Huat, Coastal Contracts, Press Metal and Public Bank.

Regionally, Asian shares edged up to a seven-year high on Thursday on growing hopes of a ceasefire in Ukraine, while investors also warmed to the idea of more monetary easing from the European Central Bank in the near future, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.15 percent in early trade, led by gains in South Korean shares. Japan's Nikkei average shed 0.1 percent, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research in a market preview Thursday said that as investors weigh on the ECB meeting outcome, the progress of Ukraine-Russia ceasefire talks, the NATO summit on 4-5 Sep resolution coupled with the uninspiring 2Q14 report card, the FBM KLCI was likely to engage in an extended consolidation this week, with crucial support near 1847 (uptrend line and 200-day moving average) levels.

“Neutral on the market but will turn more short-term bullish if immediate resistance at 1,878 (downtrend line) is taken out decisively.

“Further upside targets are 1,883 (upper Bollinger band) and 1,896 (all time high) levels,” it said.