KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 3): The FBM KLCI lost 0.87% at the midday break today as losses including at Hartalega Holdings Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd dragged the index, while regional markets stayed firm on the back of the overnight rally at Wall Street.  

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI fell 13.37 points to 1,524.17.

Market breadth was negative with 502 losers and 259 gainers, while 677 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was a brisk 5.09 billion securities valued at RM2.86 billion.

The top losers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Maxis Bhd, Duopharma Biotech Bhd, Apex Healthcare Bhd, Hartalega and Tenaga Nasional.

The actively traded stocks included Pegasus Heights Bhd, Permaju Industries Bhd, Pasukhas Group Bhd, MQ Technology Bhd, Iris Corp Bhd and JCY International Bhd.

The gainers included Lysaght Galvanized Steel Bhd, ViTrox Corp Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Teck Guan Perdana Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Time dotCom Bhd and Sarawak Consolidated Industries Bhd.

Reuters said Asian equities started strong on Thursday as a sustained recovery in China's services sector and the prospect of additional US stimulus whetted risk appetite, while the US dollar pared gains.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan climbed 0.5%, clocking its third straight session of gains to hover near a recent 2½-year high, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said following the conclusion of 2Q20 reporting season, there could be a potential switch from predominantly pandemic-themed to recovery-focused proxies in the near term as investors may start lightening their positions in glove stocks on the back of the significant progress made in the development of Covid-19 vaccines as well as treatment methodology lately.

“We reiterate KLCI to extend its range bound consolidation mode (1,500-1,600) in a seasonally weak September outing (KLCI tumbled ~1.7% from 2000-2019), compounded by domestic political uncertainty (ahead of the Sept 26 Sabah state election), the resurgence of Covid-19 cases in global hotspots coupled with escalating US-China geopolitical tension.

“However, downside risks are limited as the local financial system remains awash with liquidity over the short term and expectations of another 0.25% OPR cut on Sept 10,” it said.