KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 10): The FBM KLCI remained entrenched in negative territory at the midday break on Wednesday in line with regional markets that tumbled.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 4.99 points to 1,869.13.

The top losers included BAT, F&N, I-Bhd, PPB, MPI, Carlsberg, Khind, HLFG, Al-Aqar, KPJ Healthcare, Takaful and Lysaght.

Iris Corp was the most actively traded counter with 49.47 million shares done. The stock rose 5.13% or two sen to 41 sen.

The other actives included GPA, Dutaland, Pasukhas, RGB, Digistar, Olympia, Marco, Globaltec and Asia Bio.

The gainers included United Plantations, Lafarge Malaysia, Tahps, Kossan, RHB Capital, Hua Yang, Tasek, Bumi Armada, Karex, Atlan and Press Metals.

Regionally, Asian shares tumbled on Wednesday as markets wagered the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates earlier than expected, sending U.S. bond yields higher and keeping the dollar well  near 14-month highs against a basket of major currencies, according to Reuters.

Some of the regional tech shares took a hit after Apple Inc stock fell as the initial excitement over its announcement of new products including a watch, larger iPhones and a mobile payment service, quickly evaporated, it said.

BIMB Securities Research said US stocks fell for a second straight day on Tuesday as investors were left unimpressed by Apple's latest batch of product announcements.

The research house said negative news out of Home Depot and McDonald's also weighed on the market.

Hence, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 97.55 points, or 0.6%, to 17,013.87, it said.

BIMB Securities said the market was exhausted following a huge run up and the expectation of raising short-term interest rates next year from their current near-zero levels.

It said European stocks fell, posting their biggest three-day decline in a month, as national benchmark gauges slipped in Greece, Portugal and Spain.

“In Asia, markets were mixed yesterday except for Tokyo, which extended a recent rally after the yen hit a six-year low against the dollar.

“Locally, the FBM KLCI gained a marginal 0.16% to close at 1,874.12. We expect the local market to remain lacklustre in the short term due to lack of fresh catalysts with the index hovering in the region of 1,870-78,” it said.