KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28): The FBM KLCI fell 0.59% at the midday break today in line with the weakness at regional equity markets.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI fell 10 points to 1,686.95.

The top losers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Batu Kawan Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, The Store Corporation Bhd, Globetronics Technology Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, IJM Plantations Bhd, Oriental Interest Bhd, Metrod Holdings Bhd and Pharmaniaga Holdings Bhd.

The actives included ES Ceramics Technology Bhd, Trive Property Group Bhd, EA Holdings Bhd, Pesona Metro Holdings Bhd, XOX Bhd, AirAsia Bhd and IFCA MSC Bhd.

The gainers included DanaInfra Nasional Bhd, Panasonic Malaysia Manufacturing Bhd, Perusahaan Sadur Timah Malaysia (Perstima) Bhd, B.I.G Industries Bhd, LPI Capital Bhd and KESM Industries Bhd.

Asian stocks slipped on Wednesday, taking cues from an overnight decline on Wall Street and capped by caution ahead of a policy statement from the US Federal Reserve due later in the day, according to Reuters.

The Australian dollar, already on the back foot following a slide in crude oil, dropped to a three-week low after soft Australian inflation data paved the way for a further rate cut, it said.

BIMB Securities Research said that regionally, stocks ended mostly lower yesterday amid mixed fund flows ahead of the US Federal Reserve's meeting.

Back home, it said the FBM KLCI lost 9.84 points or 0.58% to 1,696.95, held down by telcos, plantation and banking stocks.

"Trading participation saw net selling by foreign institutions while local institutions and retail were net buyers.

"We believe the local market to remain weak for today due to dampened global sentiment ahead of a US Federal Reserve policy statement and expect to see immediate support at 1,690," it said.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)