KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI pared some of its gains on Monday but maintained a positive stance while the ringgit hit a one-month high.

       At closing, the 30-stocks index rose 1.25 points to 1,539.27 after moving between 1,547.10 and 1,537.03.

       There were 426 gainers, 536 losers and 461 counters traded unchanged on the Bursa Malaysia. Turnover stood at 3.32 billion shares valued at RM2.56bil.

       On Bursa Malaysia, United Plantations was the top gainer, jumping 92 sen to RM24, followed by Heineken, which climbed 54 sen to RM23.30, and Amway, which gained 35 sen to RM7.56.

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       Nestle tumbled RM2.40 to RM121, F&N lost 32 sen to RM29.20 and Hong Leong Industries fell 20 sen to RM10.

       Meanwhile, the ringgit was up 0.35% against the greenback at 4.7292. It rose 0.1% against the Singapore dollar at 3.5212 and gained 0.02% at 5.9933 against the pound sterling.

       Bloomberg reported that the ringgit rose to a one-month high after policymakers ramped up their coordination with state-linked firms to lift the currency from a 26-year low.

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       The currency advanced as much as 0.6% to 4.7185 per dollar in early Asian trading, its strongest level since Feb. 2.

       MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan 0.7%.

       Asian bourses closed higher today, with Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.50%, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.21%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed up 0.04% and China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 0.41%.