KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): The FBM KLCI dipped at mid-morning today as select blue chips dragged the benchmark index lower.

At 10.01am, the FBM KLCI dipped 1.47 points to 1,761.87.

The top losers included Petronas Gas Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Ta Ann Holdings Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, Globetronics Technology Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Genting Malaysia Bhd, AirAsia Bhd and Pecca Group Bhd.

The actives included Sterling Progress Bhd, Dagang NeXchange Bhd, UMW Oil & Gas Bhd, Key Alliance Group Bhd, Advancecon Holdings Bhd, ManagePay Systems Bhd, Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd and KNM Group Bhd.

The gainers included Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd, ViTrox Corp Bhd, Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd, Pentamaster Corp Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Magni-Tech Industries Bhd, Genting Bhd and Unisem (M) Bhd.

Asian stocks edged up early on Wednesday after Wall Street indexes notched record highs, while the dollar was steady as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's policy decision later in the day for more clues on its tightening plans, according to Reuters.

The Fed concludes a two-day meeting later on Wednesday, and is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research in a traders’ brief today said that in the US, corporate earnings have helped the recent uptrend movements on the Wall Street.

“Also, the recovery in Brent crude oil prices has helped the energy stocks. Nevertheless, the on-going FOMC meeting may send mild cautious tone towards the trading environment.

“Tracking the positive overnight performance on the Wall Street, we opine that buying support may lift stocks higher on the local front, the FBM KLCI should trend towards 1,770 led by oil and gas related heavyweights.

“Meanwhile, we may expect technical rebound within the small-to-mid cap stocks and lower liners after the recent profit taking activities,”it said.