KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 30): The FBM KLCI looked set to end November on a flat note month-on-month after dropping 0.98% at the midday break today.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI lost 16.38 points to 1,666.21.

Market breadth turned negative with 626 losers and 182 gainers, while 267 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.13 billion shares valued at RM814.03 million.

The top losers included Hong Leong Bank Bhd shares and warrant, Batu Kawan Bhd, Latitude Tree Holdings Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Can-One Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd and UMW Holdings Bhd.

The actives included Instacom Group Bhd, XOX Bhd, Borneo Oil Bhd, Xinghe Holdings Bhd, China Stationery Ltd Bhd, EA Holdings Bhd, Wintoni Group Bhd and Kim Teck Cheong Consolidated Bhd.

The top gainers included Panasonic Malaysia Manufacturing Bhd, DanaInfra Nasional Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, Keck Seng (Malaysia) Bhd, Scientex Bhd and Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd.

Asian shares fell on Monday as Chinese stocks extended last week's sharp losses, while the yuan bounced in volatile trade hours ahead of an International Monetary Fund decision on whether to promote it to a basket of global reserve currencies, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.7%, and was on course to log a loss of about 2.7% for the month of November, after making its first gains in six months in October, it said.

BIMB Securities Research said that in Asia, key indices ended mostly lower last Friday with strong selling in China and Hong Kong as top Chinese brokerage firms were put on investigation over margin financing and short selling for suspected violation of securities rules.

Back home, it said the FBM KLCI closed flat, losing 0.5 points or 0.03% to 1,682.59, dragged down by IHH Healthcare Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd stocks.

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

"We expect the FBM KLCI to remain lacklustre with the index hovering circa 1,680–1,685," 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.)