KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 8): The FBM KLCI edged up at the midday break on Monday amidst choppy trade.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI added 0.10 points to 1,868.56 reversing its earlier losses.

The gainers included BAT, HLFG, Hong Leong Industries, IQ Group, MPI, Hong Leong Bank, KSL, Aeon Credit, Tenaga, Tomypak, Takaful and Uzma.

PDZ was the most activley traded counter with 211.43 million shares. The stock rose 4.41% or 1.5 sen to 35.5 sen.

The other actives included Marco, Efficient, Sanichi, Sumatec, Nexgram, Frontken, Asio Bio and RGB.

The top losers included Dana Infra, Dutch Lady, Tahps, Nestle, My E.G., Public Bank, GAB, Faber, Timwell, KLK and Carlsberg.

Regionally, Asian shares edged down on Monday, taking little comfort from mixed Chinese trade data, while sterling's decline after a poll showed rising support for Scottish independence helped bolster the dollar, according to Reuters.

China's exports rose more than forecast in August while imports unexpectedly fell, pushing the trade surplus to a record high for the second consecutive month and underlining the challenges of sluggish domestic demand, it said.

Maybank IB Head of Retail Research and Chief Chartist Lee Cheng Hooi in a note to clients Monday said the FBM KLCI inched up 2.35 points week-on-week last Friday to close at 1,868.46, as some minor nibbling activities led the index up after the previous week’s sell-off.

“We advise clients to take profit at the resistance areas of 1,868 to 1,896.

“The support levels of 1,802 and 1,860 may see weak buying activities,” he said.