KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28): The FBM KLCI broke its losing streak by gaining 0.07% after posting consecutive declines over the previous three trading days, although market breadth remained negative.

At 5pm, the benchmark index rose 1.24 points or 0.07% to close at 1,670.27. For the week, the KLCI was largely flat, gaining slightly from its close of 1,669.98 on Oct 21.

Areca Capital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Danny Wong said the lacklustre KLCI performance today mirrored the lower close in the US and Asian markets.

"The KLCI was rather flat, following the lower close by US markets, while regional markets ex-Japan is also down. I think over the next one to two weeks, attention will be on the upcoming US elections as well as oil prices after the OPEC's announced move to cap production," he told theedgemarkets.com.

On the local front, Wong said the November corporate earnings season could be a catalyst for the index, though he noted some of the results that have been released were disappointing.

Across the board, some 1.48 billion shares worth RM1.66 billion were traded. Decliners continued to lead gainers at 428 versus 335, while 387 counters were unchanged.

The gainers were led by British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd, while the decliners were led by Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd. The most actively traded counter was Reach Energy Bhd's warrant REACH-WA.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.77%; South Korea's Kospi was down 0.23%, while Japan's Nikkei gained 0.63%.

Reuters reported that stocks sagged on Friday as global bond yields surged and pulled the dollar to three-month highs versus the yen, after the latest batch of US data increased chances for a near-term interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.3%, pressured by the prospect of easy money flows being crimped should the Fed tighten policy soon.