KUALA LUMPUR (March 17): The FBM KLCI rose 0.57% at mid-morning today and looked poised to breach the 1,750-point level, lifted by key blue chips.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI rose 9.89 points to 1,747.03.

The gainers included Public Bank Bhd, United Plantations Bhd, Bursa Malaysia Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, Teck Guan Perdana Bhd, Hai-O Enterprise Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd and PPB Group Bhd.

The actives included Olympia Industries Bhd, Iris Corp Bhd, Luster Corp Bhd, Priceworth International Bhd, Matang Bhd, Sterling Progress Bhd and Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd.

The top losers included Rohas Tecnic Bhd, Atlan Bhd, IHH Healthcare Bhd, Top Glove Corp Bhd, Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd, Tasek Corp Bhd, Pos Malaysia Bhd and MKH Bhd.

Asian stocks crawled higher in early trade on Friday, set for its best week since September, while the dollar continued the slide that began after the Federal Reserve indicated it was unlikely to speed up monetary tightening, according to Reuters.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six trade-weighted peers, retreated 0.1 percent to 100.26. It hit a five-week low on Thursday, and is down almost 1 percent for the week, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said Wall Street is likely to remain buoyant to trade near the 21,000-21,100 levels as traders have priced in the interest rate hike move earlier on and looking forward into the April's reporting season, which may provide them the condition of the economy.

“Meanwhile, on our local bourse, with the FBM KLCI experienced a breakout above the 1,730 level, traders may flock back into the market and focus on domestic-oriented companies over the near term as most of the uncertainties have digested well by the market.

“The FBM KLCI might be targeting the 1,740-1,750 levels (weekly SMA200),” it said.