KUALA LUMPUR (March 1): The FBM KLCI is expected to drift lower today in line with the weaker overnight close at Wall Street and start March on a tepid note.

The local index has gained 59.39 points year-to-date in the first two months of 2018.

The dollar rose to five-week highs on Wednesday on the prospect of tighter monetary policy and an upbeat U.S. economic outlook from the Federal Reserve's new chief, while global equity markets slid on declines in Celgene Corp and China's Tencent.

Also pushing the dollar higher was euro zone inflation slowing to a 14-month low, which knocked the euro to six-week lows and underscored the European Central Bank's caution in removing stimulus in the region.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 147.92 points, or 0.58 percent, to 25,262.11, the S&P 500 lost 7.02 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,737.26 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.35 points, or 0 percent, to 7,330.71.

Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, stocks in focus on Thursday (March 1) may include the following: Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd, DRB-Hicom Bhd, BIMB Holdings Bhd, AWC Bhd, TH Plantations Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Sunway Bhd, Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd, EITA Resources Bhd, Mudajaya Group Bhd and 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd.