KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27): The FBM KLCI pared some of its loss at mid-morning and returned to the 1,600-point level after briefly slipping below the mark earlier in the day.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI was down 1.02 points to 1,602.53. The index had earlier briefly slipped to a low of 1,598.48.

Gainers led losers by 239 to 212, while 309 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 465.32 million shares valued at RM216.86 million.

Losers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd, G3 Global Bhd and Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd.

The actives included Bumi Armada Bhd, Alam Maritim Resources Bhd, Rimbunan Sawit Bhd, TDM Bhd, Tiger Synergy Bhd and Bina Puri Holdings Bhd.

The gainers included Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Hengyuan Refining Co Bhd, United Plantations Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Batu Kawan Bhd, Ta Ann Holdings Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, UWC Bhd and Negri Sembilan Oil Palms Bhd.

Bloomberg said Asian stocks looked set to open higher Friday after technology shares propelled US benchmarks to fresh record highs.

The Nasdaq Composite Index closed above 9,000 for the first time, and Amazon.com Inc was the top performer in the S&P 500 after the e-commerce giant reported a "record breaking" holiday season. The US dollar drifted lower, while Treasuries were little changed on Thursday. Japanese stock futures gained, while South Korean ones were little changed early Friday. Japan's yen was near the lowest level since May, it said.

Kenanga IB Research said Asian stocks remained subdued and closed mixed a day after Christmas, as a number of markets were still closed for holidays.

It said back home, the FBM KLCI dipped slightly by 0.68 points or 0.04% to close at 1,603.55.

"Chart-wise, the index appears to be trending higher after closing above all the key SMAs a few days back.

"Coupled with a bullish signal from MACD, there may be more room for upside.

"From here, expect the index to test resistance levels at 1,630 (R1) and 1,650 (R2). Meanwhile, support levels to watch out for are 1,550 (S1) and 1,540 (S2)," it said.