KUALA LUMPUR (March 27): The FBM KLCI pared some of its loss at the midday break today after having earlier slipped to a three-month low, dragged by financial services stocks.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI fell 6.46 points to 1,643.48. The index had earlier slipped to its intra-morning low of 1,641.89.

Losers led gainers by 283 to 216, while 482 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.18 billion shares valued at RM792.66 million.

The top losers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd, Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, UMS Holdings Bhd, Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd and Apex Healthcare Bhd.

The actives included Iris Corp Bhd, Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd, Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd, Berjaya Corp Bhd and Sapura Energy Bhd.

The gainers included Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Teck Guan Perdana Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Lafarge Malaysia Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Bursa Malaysia Bhd and ViTrox Corp Bhd.

The Malaysian stock market hit a more than three-month low on Wednesday, with most Southeast Asian indexes remaining subdued in thin trade, tracking weakness in broader Asia due to continued caution over global economic slowdown worries, according to Reuters.

Adding to the steep sell-offs since Friday, the yield curve remained inverted, though the 10-year US Treasuries yield inched up to as high as 2.432% from Monday's 15-month low of 2.377%, leaving the markets nervous about the economic slowdown, it said.

Affin Hwang Capital Research said the FBM KLCI Index closed flat in yesterday's trading session, inching 0.79 points higher, closing at 1,649.94.

It said volatility was low yesterday with the index trading within a 7-point range between a high of 1,653.58 and low of 1,647.11.

"Technical indicators on the daily chart continue to suggest a bearish view with further downside still to go.

"We may see a slight rebound in the index today, in line with the recovery seen in the global markets. Nonetheless, downward bias remains.

"Anticipate the FBM KLCI Index to further soften, potentially retesting the 1,630-1,615 level," it said.