KUALA LUMPUR (April 29): The FBM KLCI cuts losses, helped by late buying of Tenaga Nasional Bhd shares as investors bargain hunted for the beaten-down stock.

At 5pm, the KLCI dropped 2.04 points or 0.1% to settle at 1,672.72 after sliding to an intraday low of 1,660.92 as investors evaluated the impact of a stronger yen on world share markets.

Shares of state-controlled utility Tenaga rose 16 sen to RM14.36 after reaching an intraday low of RM13.82. The stock had earlier declined after the company reported a 39% fall in second quarter net profit at RM1.32 billion from a year earlier.

Besides Tenaga, the KLCI has also taken the cue from external factors as investors were still digesting the US and Japan's monetary policies.

Japan's latest monetary policy has led to a stronger yen, which does not bode well for its exporters' shares. Japan markets were closed today for a holiday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.5% while South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.34%.

Reuters reported that the yen rallied to an 18-month high on Friday as investors wagered the Bank of Japan might be done adding fresh stimulus to the economy, weighing on stock markets around the world.

In Malaysia, Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd retail research head Datuk Dr Nazri Khan told theedgemarkets.com that external factors would continue to have an upper hand in dictating the Malaysian stock market.

"The direction of key index will continue be driven by external factors," Nazri said.

Across Bursa Malaysia, decliners outpaced gainers by 438 to 347.

The bourse saw 1.5 billion shares worth RM2.09 billion traded.

Top gainer was Ajinomoto (M) Bhd while top decliner was British American Tobacco (M) Bhd. The most-active counter was SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd.