KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): The FBM KLCI reversed its earlier losses and ticked marginally higher at mid-morning today, but the broader market sentiment stayed tepid in line with the region.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI was up 0.48 points to 1,676.31. The index had earlier slipped to a low of 1,668.88.

Sentiment remained tepid with gainers trailing losers by 201 to 255, while 254 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 619.09 million shares valued at RM224.47 million.

The top gainers included Petronas Gas Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Scientex Bhd, YSP Southeast Asia Holding Bhd and Heineken Malaysia Bhd.

The actives included Tatt Giap Group Bhd, PUC Bhd, Permaju Industries Bhd, Borneo Oil Bhd, KUB (M) Bhd, Inari Amertron Bhd, Sanichi Technology Bhd and Barakah Offshore Bhd.

The decliners included Nestle (M) Bhd, BLD Plantation Bhd, Genting Plantations Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, Dufu Technology Corp Bhd and Pentamaster Corp Bhd.

Global markets were on edge on Friday as dire US economic data slammed Wall Street and pushed investors to bet the Federal Reserve could reverse its policy tightening before the end of this year, according to Reuters.

US stock futures slipped in early Asian trade with E-Minis for the S&P 500 off 0.3%, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said in the US, the selling tone may extend over the near term with the weaker-than-expected factory data in China and Europe, while the corporates in the US could be affected by potential slowing economy in China, translating to weaker earnings moving forward eventually.

"We expect the selling pressure to emerge this session, given the weak sentiment from Wall Street, which was affected by Apple guidance and led to selldown in chipmakers.

"Hence, we believe the KL technology index would suffer another round of selldown, while the FBM KLCI could trend mildly lower with the support zone set around 1,630-1,650," it said.