KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): The FBM KLCI remained in negative territory at the midday break as sentiment stayed bearish at the local market, in line with the jittery global investor feelings.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI fell 5.04 points to 1,733.14.

Losers hammered gainers by 852 to 94, while 251 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 2.01 billion shares valued at RM956.52 million.

The top losers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Tahps Group Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, JHM Consolidation Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Hong Leong Industries Bhd, SCGM Bhd and Hai-O Enterprise Bhd.

The actives included Borneo Oil Bhd, Lion Diversified Holdings Bhd, Priceworth International Bhd, Anzo Holdings Bhd, Dagang NeXchange Bhd, Malayan United Industries Bhd, SKH Consortium Bhd and Olympia Industries Bhd.

The gainers included United Plantations Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, Seacera Group Bhd, Oriental Interest Bhd, Ann Joo Resources Bhd and Southern Steel Bhd.

Japanese and South Korean shares headed lower while the won came under pressure on Friday, hurt by rising geopolitical tensions in the Korean peninsula in otherwise holiday-thinned trade, according to Reuters.

Investors were spooked by worries North Korea may conduct a nuclear test or conduct other actions that could provoke neighbouring countries as early as this weekend, it said.

Kenanga IB Research said profit-taking activities had taken a toll on select blue chips in yesterday's session as the FBM KLCI dipped 5.9 points or 0.34% to close at 1,738.18.

It said the broader market was also looking uninspiring with 765 decliners dominating 220 advancers, while the FBM Small Cap slipped below the 17,500 mark.

The research house said looking at the FBM KLCI daily chart, the benchmark index had slipped below the 1,740 (R1) support-turned-resistance level.

"Technical indicators remain lethargic with the negative trending display, suggesting that the downside-bias trade is likely to persist in the immediate term.

"With lingering concerns of over-heating geopolitical risks as well as the poor Wall Street performances as of recent, we reckon that the FBM KLCI is likely to trade downside-bias today.

"Resistance levels are seen at 1,740 (R1) followed by 1,750 (R2), while supports are at 1,727 (S1) followed by 1,713 (S2)," it said.