KUALA LUMPUR (May 13): The FBM KLCI edged up marginally at mid-morning but struggled to breach the 1,800-point level.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI added 0.56 points to 1,799.17.

The top gainers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd, Genting Bhd, IOI Corporation Bhd, Scientex Bhd and IJM Plantations Bhd.

The actives included Scan Associates Bhd, Kanger International Bhd, AirAsia X Bhd, Sumatec Resources Bhd and KNM Group Bhd.

The top losers included Petronas Dagangan Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Berjaya Auto Bhd, Oriental Food Industries Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, KLCC Property Holdings Bhd, Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd, Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd and C.I. Holdings Bhd.
Asian shares firmed on Wednesday, shrugging off weakness on Wall Street as investors bet that a batch of economic data from China due later in the day would bolster the case for more stimulus in the world's second-largest economy, according to Reuters.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock index edged down slightly, it said.

BIMB Securities Research said key regional markets ended mixed yesterday as investors remain cautious following overnight losses in the Wall Street.

It said Japanese shares ended flat, erasing losses from earlier in the session thanks to gains in companies reporting rosy outlooks, which helped offset concerns over Greece's debt crisis while Hong Kong ended sharply lower due to weaker sentiment.

Locally, the research house said the FBM KLCI ended lower, losing 6.88 points to 1,798.61, weighed down mainly by oil & Gas stocks.

“Trading participation saw net selling by foreign institutions and local retail while local institutions were net buyers.

“We expect the local market to trend lower due weak sentiment with the index hovering around 1,790-95,” it said.