KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 16): The FBM KLCI remained lacklustre at mid-morning today as investors awaited Bank Negara Malaysia's announcement of Malaysia's second quarter 2019 gross domestic product growth data.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI fell 6.11 points to 1,594.18.

Losers edged gainers by 195 to 165, while 248 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 432.38 million shares valued at RM192.35 million.

The losers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Genting Plantations Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, QL Resources Bhd and Hong Leong Bank Bhd.

The actives included Green Packet Bhd, Eduspec Holdings Bhd, KNM Group Bhd, PCCS Group Bhd and Datasonic Group Bhd.

The gainers included Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Rapid Synergy Bhd, Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd, Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd, Caring Pharmacy Group Bhd and Tong Herr Resources Bhd.

Asian shares were heading for weekly losses on Friday as conflicting messages on the Sino-US trade war only added to worries for the global economy, while talk of aggressive central bank stimulus drove bond yields to fresh lows, according to Reuters.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he believed China wanted to make a trade deal and that the dispute would be fairly short, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said that with the minor rebound on Wall Street and less negative news headlines, it expected the market to stabilise for this week and US equities may maintain its mild rebound momentum.

"However, the upside is likely to be capped at least until the resumption of the trade discussion between the US and China by early September. Hence, the trading range of the Dow is likely to be seen around 25,000-25,500.

"Given the strong bargain-hunting activities on index heavyweights, which lifted the KLCI near to 20 points yesterday, this buying interest could sustain with the less-negative market environment today.

"We should expect more trading interest amongst bashed down stocks within the construction and technology stocks. The FBM KLCI's range for today is set around 1,580-1,620 for today," it said.