KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 13): The FBM KLCI pared some of its loss and was down 0.36% at midday break today, tracking regional declines, following the overnight rout at Wall Street.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI fell 6.06 points to 1,690.08.

Losers led gainers by 412 to 208, while 1,162 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.16 billion shares, valued at RM812.77 million.

Top losers included Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd, Allianz Malaysia Bhd, Genting Plantations Bhd and IOI Corp Bhd.

The actives included Securemetric Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd, Key Alliance Group Bhd, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, Sino Hua-Ann International Bhd, Orion IXL Bhd and Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd.

Gainers included Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Securemetric, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd and Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd.

Asian shares skidded on Tuesday, pressured by a tech rout on Wall Street and a slump in oil prices, while political risks in Europe buoyed the dollar as investors dumped riskier assets, according to Reuters.

Fears of a likely peak in corporate earnings growth, softening global demand and faster rate hikes in the United States, have put global investors on edge over the past month, prompting them to take money off the table before year end, Reuters said.

Affin Hwang Capital Research said the FBMKLCI Index started the week on a low note, dropping 11.95 points, resuming the fall from Friday (Nov 9).

It said performance of the local index was bogged down by selling in heavy-weight counters like IHH Healthcare Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd & Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd.

“Prices have broken below the 1700 key psychological level, closing at 1696.14, which indicates a more negative bias.

“Technical indicators showing signs of slowing down. Anticipate our local index to weaken further towards the 1650 level,” the research house said.