KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI advanced slightly amid cautious trading in the broader market.
The benchmark FBM KLCI rose 2.99 points, or 0.18% to 1,636.54. The market traded within a range of 10.19 points between an intra-day high of 1,642.56 and a low of 1,632.37 during the session.
Stocks that fell outnumbered those that rose 654 to 341, with another 497 counters unchanged. A total of 2.24 billion shares changed hands, worth RM2.1bil.
Gainers on Bursa Malaysia include Kuala Lumpur Kepong, which rose 38 sen to RM21.40, PETRONAS Dagangan, which added 34 sen to RM18.32 and United Plantations climbed 24 sen to RM26.22.
Among the banks, Public Bank rose eight sen to RM4.39, CIMB added three sen to RM8.25 and RHB Bank gained two sen to RM6.27.
Maybank fell two sen to RM10.54 while Hong Leong Bank fell one sen to RM5.62.
Among the decliners on Bursa Malaysia, Nestle tumbled RM2.10 to RM102.50, Hong Leong Industries fell 28 sen to RM13.70, Malaysian Pacific Industries
lost 16 sen to RM26.10 and Quality Concrete slid 16 sen to RM1.06.
On the external front, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index rose by 0.08%. Trading in Asia was lighter on Monday due to a holiday in Japan.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.02% to 2,623.29 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed down 0.75% at 21,092.87.
China’s CSI300 index advanced 1.91% to 3,961.34 while the Shanghai Composite rose 2.07% to 3,284.32.
Reuters reported that China's financial markets have been on a rollercoaster ride and turnover records have tumbled since late September when a series of rate cuts and announcements raised expectations of a major government rescue effort for China's ailing economy.
During a news conference on Saturday, China's Finance Minister Lan Foan promised to "significantly increase" debt but did not reveal the total size of the stimulus. This information is important for investors to understand how long the stock market rally might last.
