KUALA LUMPUR (July 21): The FBM KLCI fell 2.06 points or 0.1% with Asian markets, after the European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi said the ECB would revisit its bond-buying programme this autumn.

Draghi's comments led to expectation of the ECB's monetary tightening, which does not bode well for Asian markets. This is in anticipation investors will shift their money to euro-denominated assets on higher interest rate expectations.

At Bursa Malaysia, the KLCI settled at 1,753.57 points at 12:30pm. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.17%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.13%.

In Malaysia, Maybank Investment Bank Bhd said the KLCI was still in consolidation mode, amid a lack of positive catalysts. In a note today, Maybank said it expected KLCI trading to “remain choppy”.

Across Bursa Malaysia, 823.17 million shares worth RM555.55 million were traded. Decliners outweighed gainers at 321 against 260 respectively.

Mlabs Systems Bhd was the most active stock, with some 72 million shares traded. Mlabs rose 0.5 sen to 22.5 sen.