KUALA LUMPUR (July 16): The FBM KLCI fell 0.26% at mid-morning today, weighed by select index-linked blue chips while regional markets edged upward.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI lost 4.38 points to 1,667.99.

Losers edged gainers by 238 to 237, while 336 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 722.29 million shares valued at RM347.66 million.

The losers included PPB Group Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Magni-Tech Industries Bhd, Digi.Com Bhd and MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd.

The actives included Ekovest Bhd, Impiana Hotels Bhd, Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd, KNM Group Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd, NetX Holdings Bhd and DWL Resources Bhd.

The gainers included Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, LPI Capital Bhd, SAM Engineering & Equipment (M) Bhd, G3 Global Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd and Pentamaster Corp Bhd.

Asian shares inched up on Tuesday as traders awaited US retail sales data and more corporate earnings to gauge the health of the world's biggest economy, with markets remaining focused on a likely US rate cut by the end of the month, according to Reuters.

Investors were relieved by encouraging Chinese economic data on the previous day, though broad pressure across global business and investment from Sino-US trade frictions and slowing world growth reinforced expectations of policy easing by major central banks, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said that on Wall Street, the upside could be limited given the overbought signals on the momentum oscillators.

Meanwhile, it said investors will be watching closely the upcoming corporate earnings season, coupled with the interest rate decision in the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

"In addition, the unresolved trade war between the US and China will be another factor that may deter traders from aggressively buying into equities at this juncture. The Dow's resistance will be located around 27,500.

"With China's GDP suggesting that the country is growing at a softer pace amid the ongoing pressure that China could be facing in the midst of the trade negotiations with the US, we think the global slowdown may eventually result in a potential reduction in risky equities exposure.

"Nevertheless, selected stocks in Malaysia that were bashed down and oversold within the technology and O&G sectors may be seen as a good opportunity to trade for the rebound," it said.