KUALA LUMPUR (April 4): The FBM KLCI pared some of its loss at the midday break today, as Tenaga Nasional Bhd climbs, and against the backdrop of subdued regional markets.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 1.79 points to 1,641.42. The index had earlier slipped to its intra-morning low of 1,637.57.

Losers outpaced gainers by 276 to 259, while 535 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.67 billion shares valued at RM907.19 million.

The top losers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Genting Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, KESM Industries Bhd, Spritzer Bhd and Amway (M) Holdings Bhd.

The actives included KNM Group Bhd, Pegasus Heights Bhd, Sino Hua-An International Bhd, Scomi Energy Services Bhd, Hubline Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd, Barakah Offshore Petroleum Bhd and Scomi Group Bhd.

The gainers included Time dotCom Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Petra Energy Bhd, Heitech Padu Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Batu Kawan Bhd, Tenaga, Enra Group Bhd and Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd.

Most Southeast Asian stock markets were subdued on Thursday as investors adopted a wait-and-see stance awaiting further developments on the Sino-US trade talks, according to Reuters.

The newswire reported that White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said trade talks between the United States and China made "good headway" last week in Beijing and the two sides aim to bridge differences during talks that could extend beyond three days this week.

Affin Hwang Capital Research said the FBM KLCI Index continued to stage a rebound, gaining 10.38 points or 0.64% in the previous session to close at 1,643.21.

"On the daily chart, the formation of 'doji' (candlestick pattern) at the 1,630 immediate support point towards indecision between buyers and sellers. This indicates that there is a possibility that buyers would come into play at that level.

"So far, prices have been pushing off support and we may see the index stage a short-term rebound, anticipated towards the EMA20d (20-day exponential moving average) & EMA50d.

"Anticipate the FBM KLCI Index to further soften, potentially retesting the 1,630-1,615 level," it said.