KUALA LUMPUR (May 27): The FBM KLCI lost 0.63% at mid-morning today as key blue chips fell in line with the slump at most regional markets.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI lost 11.05 points to 1,753.02.

The top losers included Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Panasonic Malaysia Manufacturing Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd. Carlsberg Brewery (M) Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, MISC Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd.

The actives included Sumatec Resources Bhd, Xinghe Holdings Bhd, Kanger International Bhd, Frontken Corporation Bhd, Opensys (M) Bhd, APFT Bhd and IFCA MSC Bhd.

The gainers included Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, WZ Satu Bhd, Microlink Solutions Bhd, IJM Corporation Bhd, Lafarge Malaysia Bhd and Pos Malaysia Bhd.

Asian stocks sagged and the dollar stood tall on Wednesday on growing prospects the Federal Reserve was on track to raise interest rates later this year and concerns that financial woes could engulf Spain in addition to Greece,according to Reuters.

Taking a lead from Wall Street's slide, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3 percent with Australian and South Korean shares suffering losses. Tokyo's Nikkei shed 0.3 percent, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said that after sliding 5.5% from year-to-date high of 1867.5 on May 13 to 1764.1 yesterday, the FBM KLCI was grossly oversold and that the research house does not discount a relief rally in the near term.

“However, any rebound is likely to be capped near 1790-1800 levels as sentiment remains fragile amid external and internal uncertainties.

“For a resumption of uptrend, the FBM KLCI must swiftly recapture the 1790 (downtrend line from all time high of 1896) and 1800 levels. Key supports are 1740-1750,” it said.