KUALA LUMPUR: Small-sized construction counters sizzled on Friday led by sharp rises at MTD-ACPI Engineering Bhd and Zelan Bhd amid strong rotational interest, as traders took advantage of improved sentiment to chase up prices for quick profits.

Stocks were up by at least 2% in Japan and Australia, as upbeat corporate earnings outlook and strong commodity prices jolted investor' mood across the region.

But lingering concern about the global economic health kept stock prices from rising too far, as investors waited for the results of "stress tests" on 91 banking institutions in Europe to be released later today.

At the midday break, FBM KLCI climbed 7.18 points, or 0.5% to 1,343.23 points. Out the 30 stocks that made up the benchmark index, 18 counters advanced against five decliners, while seven counters flat.

In the broader market, the FBM Emas Index climbed 0.5% to 9,113 points, with 440 gainers leading 216 decliners.

Tebrau was the most active stock, up 4.5 sen, or 6.6% to 72.5 sen on volume 24.6 million shares transacted, followed by Berjaya Corp up 1 sen, or 0.9% to RM1.07 with 24 million shares traded.

Construction firm MTD ACPI Engineering surged 15 sen, or 35% to 57 sen on volume of 20 million shares, Sycal up 3.5 sen, or 26% to 17 sen on 15.3 million shares.

Power plant builder Zelan rose 4.5 sen, or 7.2% to 67 sen on 31 million shares, but property developer UEM Land failed to hold on to early gains and was flat at RM1.76 on volume of 13.4 million shares.

In overseas markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 236 points, or 2.56% to 9,456 points and in Australia the main index rose 93 points, 2.1% to 4,467 points, while Singapore's Straits Times index advanced 17 points, or 0.6% to 2,972 points.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index jumped 1% to 20,814 points, while in korea the main Kospi Index shot up 1.16% to 1,755 points.

After US markets closed yesterday, Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, reported a 48% climb in fourth- quarter net income, exceeding the average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey. About 85% of S&P 500 companies that have reported results since July 12 beat analysts' per-share earnings forecasts, Bloomberg data show.

In the commodity market, crude palm oil futures on Bursa Derivatives fell RM5 from a two-month high to RM2,512 a tonne.

Other key commodities were also almost flat following recent price surge. Crude oil futures in New York eased 24 cents to US$79.06 a barrel, while spot gold added 90 cents to US$1,195.88 an ounce.

The ringgit strengthened 0.3% to 3.1995 against the US dollar, up 0.4% against the Japanese yen at 3.676, but fell 0.2% against the euro at 4.1304.

-- The Star