KUALA LUMPUR (June 25): The FBM KLCI fell 0.14% at mid-morning today, dragged by select index-linked blue chips in line with the tentative regional markets.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI fell 2.3 points to 1,673.83.

Losers led gainers by 233 to 183, while 276 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 404.15 million shares valued at RM213.01 million.

The losers included Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Genting Bhd and Apex Healthcare Bhd.

The actives included Sumatec Resources Bhd, Berjaya Land Bhd, Handal Resources Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd and Sedania Innovator Bhd.

The gainers included SAM Engineering & Equipment (M) Bhd, Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Boustead Holdings Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd and Hong Leong Industries Bhd.

Stocks in Asia looked set to drift Tuesday after their US counterparts slipped for a second session in a lacklustre session. Treasuries gained, while the US dollar declined, according to Bloomberg.

Equity futures were slightly lower in Japan, Australia and South Korea. The S&P 500 posted a modest loss as energy producers dropped in the wake of new US sanctions on Iran where President Donald Trump imposed restrictions on the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and eight senior military commanders. The 10-year Treasury yield dropped to 2.01%. West Texas oil futures pared recent gains in early Asian trading Tuesday, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said that in the US, sentiment may be cautious after recent 8.3% rally from year-to-date low of 24,680 to 26,728, mainly driven by the dovish Federal Reserve and US-China trade war optimism.

It said consensus are expecting a more conciliatory tone when Trump and China President Xi Jinping meet during the G20 summit, with a possible agreement to refrain from further tariff hikes or other punitive actions.

"Overall, we expect the Dow to trend in tight range bound within 26,400-27,000 levels this week.

"Given that nothing significant is expected from the US-China trade talk at G20 meeting, except for willingness to return to negotiating table, as well as surging geopolitical tensions in Middle East, KLCI is expected to continue its profit-taking mode after rallying 6.6% from 1,572.

"However, any retracement is likely to be cushioned by potential 1H19 window-dressing activities. For big-cap proxies to window dressing, we like Malayan Banking Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and RHB Bank Bhd," it said.