KUALA LUMPUR (June 7): Festive cheer helped to lift the mood, with Malaysian stocks closing in positive territory today.

The FBM KLCI closed 0.32% higher after the two-day Hari Raya Aidilfitri break, but sell-side analysts see limited upside following less than encouraging corporate earnings in the first quarter of this year.

At 5pm, the benchmark index settled 5.24 points higher at 1,649.33 points, after moving between 1,646.80 and 1,651.99 throughout the day.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd head of research Victor Wan told theedgemarkets.com that the KLCI uptrend since May 24 has largely reflected the market’s fair value.

“The uptrend over the past one to two weeks has pretty much reflected the market’s fundamental. Things are looking stable, with very little room left for market upside. Further upside has to be driven by corporate earnings, which have not been very encouraging thus far,” he said.

Trading volume increased to 1.55 billion shares worth RM1.53 billion compared with Tuesday's 1 billion shares worth RM1.01 billion. Market breadth was positive with 487 gainers versus 306 losers. A total of 349 counters remained unchanged.

Notable gainers included Maxis Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, while losers included Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd and RHB Bank Bhd.

Metronic Global Bhd was the most actively traded counter, with 103.07 million shares changing hands.

Regionally, Reuters reported that Asian shares were slightly higher on Friday on expectations that global central banks will soon embark on an easing cycle in the face of international trade frictions and fears of a world recession.

Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.53% today, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.26%. South Korean Kospi also rose by 0.16%.