KUALA LUMPUR (March 29): The FBM KLCI dipped early today in line with the wobbly regional markets, while newly-listed Bison Consolidated Bhd rose in active trade.

At 9.03am, the FBM KLCI dipped 2.98 points to 1,699.43.

Newly-listed Bison Consolidated Bhd was the most actively traded stocks and rose 6 sen to RM1.16 with 13.57 million shares done.

The top losers included Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Lafarge Malaysia Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Alliance Financial Group Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, KPJ Healthcare Bhd and Petronas Gas Bhd.

Asian shares struggled to find their footing on Tuesday after downbeat U.S. economic data contributed to an uninspiring session on Wall Street and pressured the dollar, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.05 percent after wavering for most of the early session, it said.

JF Apex Securities Research in a market preview today that US markets were mixed following flat oil prices and investors waiting for comments from the Federal Reserve regarding timing of interest rate hike.

Meanwhile, European markets were closed for Easter holiday, it said.

“On the local market, the FBM KLCI ended 1.38 points lower at 1702.41 points after recovering from an intra-day low of 1698.26 points.

“Following the mixed performance in Wall Street, the FBM KLCI is expected to remain flat and hover around 1,700 points,” it said.