KUALA LUMPUR (July 12): The FBM KLCI halted its ascend in ear;y trade this morning as regional markets stayed under pressure with escalating worries over the U.S.-China trade war.

At 9.10am, the FBM KLCI shed 1.06 points to 1,687.71.

The early decliners included Nestle (M) Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Top Glove Corp Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Hong Leong Industries Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Genting Plantations Bdh, UMW Holdings Bhd and Genting Bhd.

Asian stocks remained under pressure on Thursday from fears of an escalation in the U.S.-China trade war, while the dollar stood stall after rallying against its peers amid the turmoil in broader markets, said Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.25 percent, it said.

JF Apex Securities Research in a market preview said US markets tumbled overnight as the trade war escalated after the US imposed new tariffs on Chinese products.

It said European stocks also declined sharply after US unveiled a new list of Chinese goods that could face tariffs.

“On the local bourse, the FBM KLCI ended 1.64 points higher at 1688.77 points after recovering from an intra-day low of 1679.18 points.

“Following the bearish performance in the US and Europe, the FBM KLCI is expected to trend lower with support at 1665 points,” it said.