KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 19): The FBM KLCI rose 0.33% as investors capitalised on the Malaysian stock market's defensive status amid global volatility.

At 5pm, the KLCI was up 6.01 points at 1,824.39 led by gains in Genting Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (HLFG) and Tenaga Nasional Bhd.

Yesterday, the index rose 11.9 points.

Across Bursa Malaysia today, decliners outpaced gainers 438 to 357 while 309 counters remained unchanged. Turnover stood at 2.11 billion shares valued at RM1.93 billion.

When contacted, Datuk Dr Nazri Khan, head of retail research at Affin Hwang Investment Bank, said he expected defensive markets like Malaysia to benefit from "cautiousness" seen on the external front.

“The local (equity) market is expected to be positive in the next few days,” Nazri said.

Genting and HLFG were the top two gainers on Bursa Malaysia today. Genting rose 47 sen to RM9.37 while HLFG rose 34 sen to RM17.98.

Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd was the top decliner, having shed 66 sen to RM23.

ACE-listed Solution Engineering Bhd, a teaching equipment provider, was the most actively traded stock on the local bourse today.

Across the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.32%, South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.01% , while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.66%.

However, Taiwan’s Taiex was up 1.18%, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.6%

Reuters reported that Japanese shares shed early gains today, as investors booked profits after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delayed a tax hike and said he would call a snap election to seek a fresh mandate for his economic policies.