KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 17): The FBM KLCI recouped its meagre gains at the midday break, in line with the positive regional markets.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up 0.66 points to 1,774.41. The index had earlier slipped to its intra-morning low of 1,773.24.

Gainers led losers by 292 to 278, while 471 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 911.18 million shares, valued at RM744.19 million.

The top gainers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Chin Teck Plantations Bhd, Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd, Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Oriental Interest Bhd, Pentamaster Corporation Bhd, Apex Healthcare Bhd and Bursa Malaysia Bhd.

The actives included JAG Bhd, IFCA MSC Bhd, KNM Group Bhd, TA Global Bhd, Mlabs Systems Bhd, Systech Bhd, Dagang NeXchange Bhd, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd and Sig Gases Bhd.

The decliners included Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, SAM Engineering & Equipment Bhd, Sig Gases, Bison Consolidated Bhd, Perusahaan Sadur Timah Malaysia Bhd, Teck Guan Perdana Bhd, Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd and Genting Plantations Bhd.

Asian stocks edged higher on Thursday, as tensions between the United States and North Korea came off the boil, while the Federal Reserve's concerns about weak U.S. inflation weighed on the dollar, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.5%, Reuters said.

Kenanga IB Research said Asian markets were broadly higher as tensions in the Korean Peninsula unwound, coupled with a resurgence in the dollar.

Likewise, it said the local FBM KLCI followed Asian markets and closed 1.36 points higher (0.08%) at 1,773.75.

The research house said broader market sentiment also continued to be positive, with 529 gainers against 295 losers, while 368 counters traded unchanged.

“Charting-wise, the index opened higher in the morning and continued the session trading within a narrow 3-point range.

“Trading volume continued to remain subdued, while indicators are also displaying fairly neutral signs, suggesting some sideways consolidation with a slight bias towards the downside with the presence of an earlier “death-cross” between key-SMAs.

“From here, some immediate support can be found at 1,764 (S1), with a stronger support lower down at 1,750 (S2),” Kenanga IB Research said.