KUALA LUMPUR (May 23): The FBM KLCI dipped at morning today, weighed by select blue chips, including Petronas-linked counters.

At 10.01am, the FBM KLCI was down 0.20 points to 1,628.59.

The losers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Focus Lumber Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery (M) Holdings Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Lay Hong Bhd, Aeon Credit Services (M) Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, Southern Acids Bhd and UEM Edgenta Bhd.

The actives included XOX Bhd, Inix Technologies Bhd, Vivocom International Bhd, KNM Group Bhd, EKA Noodles Bhd, AirAsia X Bhd, Kanger International Bhd and LKL International Bhd.

The top gainers included United Plantations Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Latitude Tree Holdings Bhd, Lii Hen Industries Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Pestech International Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd and MKH Bhd.

Asian shares rose on Monday after a solid session on Wall Street, while the dollar held near recent highs against major rivals as investors bet that the U.S. Federal Reserve was on track to raise rates sooner rather than later, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 percent, after Wall Street rallied on Friday, shrugging off growing expectations of tighter monetary policy, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said given some uncertainty surrounding the looming Brexit, higher likelihood of US interest rate hike in June as well as local earnings result jitters, local benchmark key index is expected to remain lackluster this week, with our projected weekly trading range of between 1600 and 1650.

“Despite the lackluster local sentiment, we are of the view that export-oriented stocks may gain strong buying momentum.

“The anticipation of higher likelihood of US interest rate hike in June is likely to translate into weaker ringgit, hence putting export-oriented stocks back in the spotlight,” it said.