KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 3): The FBM KLCI pared some of its losses at midday break today, as the broader sentiment stayed negative, in line with the drop at regional markets.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 3.52 points to 1,816.14. The index had earlier slipped to its intra-morning low of 1,809.57.

Losers led gainers by 689 to 202, while 994 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.64 billion shares, valued at RM789.77 million.

The top losers included KESM Industries Bhd, Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd, Chin Teck Plantations Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, Hap Seng Plantations Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Lafarge Malaysia Bhd, Coastal Contracts Bhd and Hong Leong Bank Bhd.

The actives included Borneo Oil Bhd, Priceworth International Bhd, NetX Holdings Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd, Nexgram Holdings Bhd and Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd.

The gainers included Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd and Malaysia-listed Hang Seng Index-linked put warrants.

Asian stocks dropped for the third consecutive session on Monday, hit by worries over further escalation of the U.S-China trade war and unstable emerging market currencies, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.7%, while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.5%, though trade could be subdued due to a U.S. market holiday on Monday, Reuters said.

Affin Hwang Capital Research said the FBM KLCI Index closed little changed (down 0.98 points) to end last week.

“Short-term bearish divergence gradually unfolds, thus the index is anticipated to gradually retrace in the near future. However, prices still remain supported above the 61.8% Fibonacci level.

“The FBM KLCI Index may experience upward bias in the near-term,” the research house said.