KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 19): The FBM KLCI edged higher this morning, tracking gains at the regional markets.

At 9.05am, the FBM KLCI rose 5.54 points to 1,711.92.

The gainers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, United Plantations Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, Dufu Technology Bhd, LPI Capital Bhd and Magni-Tech Industries Bhd.

Asian shares inched cautiously higher on Monday amid conflicting signals on the chance of a truce in the Sino-U.S. trade dispute, while a new-found air of concern on the global outlook at the Federal Reserve undermined the dollar, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan tacked on 0.1 percent and South Korea 0.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.4 percent, but E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 slipped 0.3 percent, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research in a traders’ brief said as both the US and China and preparing for the trade discussion in the upcoming G20 summit, investors may anticipate the market volatility to remain over the near term.

Should there be any negative surprises from the summit, it could impact global stock markets towards the downside. Traders will also be monitoring the FOMC meeting on 17-18 Dec. Meanwhile, Donald Trump commented that US is likely to go ahead with the increase of tariffs on China products in January 2019.

“On the local front, sentiment may stay positive, tracking Wall Street overnight.

“However, with the ongoing reporting season, volatility may increase throughout this period and local equities could have downside risk if corporate earnings are weaker-than-expected. Meanwhile, traders could focus on export-oriented as the ringgit trend continues to trend weaker last week,” it said.