KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): The FBM KLCI fell 1.01% as key blue chips, including Petronas-linked stocks, slipped on profit taking.

At 10.15am, the FBM KLCI fell 16.91 points to 1,675.60.

The top losers included Petronas Gas Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Panasonic Malaysia Manufacturing Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Pharmamiaga holdings Bhd and Kossan Rubber Indutries Bhd.

The actively-traded stocks included Instacom Group Bhd, Nexgram Holdings Bhd, Kim Teck Cheong Consolidated Bhd, RGB International Bhd, Tiger Synergy Bhd, Frontken Corporation Bhd, The Media Shoppe Bhd and Borneo Oil Bhd.

The top gainers included Teck Guan Perdana Bhd, Apex Healthcare Bhd, Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd, Kim Loong Resources Bhd and Gadang Holdings Bdh.

Asian shares began their first trading of 2016 on a cautious note on Monday, while oil prices jumped 3% after Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric spurred regional anger and geopolitical tensions, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1%, with resource-heavy Australian shares rising 0.6%. The MSCI ex-Japan shed nearly 12% in 2015, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said following a 1.7% or 29 points rally last week, mainly driven by seasonal year-end window dressing and stabilized oil prices, post-window dressing blues are likely to emerge this week.

“Near term supports are 1651-1674, while resistances are 1700-1727,” 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.)