KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 24): The FBM KLCI saw its gains capped in the morning session as sentiment at the local bourse tracked regional markets and stayed bearish.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was up 3.22 points to 1,700.82. The index had earlier risen to its intra-morning high of 1,706.18.

Losers led gainers by 443 to 246, while 1,215 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.25 billion shares valued at RM769.03 million.

The top gainers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Axiata Group Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd, Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd, Pharmaniaga Bhd and MISC Bhd.

The actives included Vortex Consolidated Bhd, Borneo Oil Bhd, Datasonic Group Bhd, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, Pesona Metro Holdings Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd, My EG Services Bhd and Iris Corp Bhd.

The losers included Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd, Hong Leong Industries Bhd, Globetronics Technology Bhd, Allianz Malaysia Bhd, Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd, Mi Equipment Holdings Bhd and Inari Amertron Bhd.

Asian stocks edged lower on Wednesday as concerns, ranging from worries about US corporate earnings to Middle East tensions, weighed on sentiment while crude oil approached two-month lows after Saudi Arabia flagged possible supply increases, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2%, extending the decline of more than 2% in the previous session, it said.

Affin Hwang Capital Research said the FBM KLCI Index dropped heavily (down 24.87 points), closing at 1,697.6 yesterday.

It said technical indicators continue to slide further, showing that the down move still has some ways to go.

"The key 1,700 support level has also been broken convincingly, further adding to negative bias. Moving forward, the 1,650 level would be the next critical area to keep a close watch on. Despite present bearish sentiment, opportunities present [themselves] for long-term investors to accumulate quality stocks.

"The FBM KLCI Index anticipated to resume lower, technical rebound perceived as completed," it said.