KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 24): The FBM KLCI pared some of its losses at mid-morning Friday in holiday-shortened trading, against the backdrop of flat regional markets.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI was down 0.13 points to 1,574.31. The index had earlier slipped to a low of 1,569.99.

Losers led gainers by 294 to 196, while 260 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 621.43 million shares valued at RM346.55 million.

The top losers included Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, SAM Engineering & Equipment (M) Bhd and Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd.

The actives included Impiana Hotels Bhd, EA Holdings Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd, Comintel Corp Bhd and Sapura Energy Bhd.

The gainers included Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, Icon Offshore Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Top Glove Corp Bhd, KESM Industries Bhd, G3 Global Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Comintel and Public Bank Bhd.

Reuters said stocks made a barely positive start in early Asian trade on Friday after the world's health body called it a little too early to declare a coronavirus outbreak a global emergency.

But worries over rapid spread of the deadly virus kept investors on guard as millions of Chinese travel during the Lunar New Year holiday period, it said.

Kenanga IB Research said Asian stocks closed lower on Thursday as investors remain cautious following China's move to lock down the central city of Wuhan in hopes of containing the deadly virus.

It said back home, the FBM KLCI inched down by 3.54 points or 0.22% to close at 1,574.44.

"Chart-wise, the index remained below the crucial 1,600-point level and 20-day SMA.

"Coupled with the bearish crossover signal from MACD, we expect the index to experience a near-term consolidation.

"A resumption of the uptrend could be underway only when the index breaks out from the existing consolidation pattern by breaching the 1,600-psychological mark convincingly. From here on, its overhead resistance can be seen at 1,630 (R1) and 1,650 (R2)," it said.