KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): The FBM KLCI narrowed its loss at the midday break today and stayed firmly above the 1,600-point level, against the backdrop of regional markets trading near 18-month highs.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 1.53 points to 1,608.65. The index had earlier slipped to a low of 1,601.23.

Losers edged gainers by 312 to 238, while 499 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.01 billion shares valued at RM648.66 million.

The top losers included Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Southern Acids (M) Bhd, QL Resources Bhd, IOI Corp Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd.

The actives included Brahim's Holdings Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd, Rimbunan Sawit Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd, Ekovest Bhd, NetX Holdings Bhd, TDM Bhd and Velesto Energy Bhd.

The gainers included Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Genting Plantations Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, MISC Bhd, Oriental Holdings Bhd, Batu Kawan Bhd and Nestle (M) Bhd.

Reuters said Asian markets idled near 18-month highs on Monday as volumes weakened ahead of the Christmas holiday break and investors squared off their positions, taking home hefty gains made earlier this month.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was steady after rising 1.4% last week and over 5% this month. For the final quarter of the year, the index is up nearly 10% so far, it said.

Affin Hwang Capital Research said the FBM KLCI gained 14.17 points or 0.89%, to close at 1,610.18 on Friday.

It said on the technical aspect, presently there is no clear sign of a downward reversal, while selected key indicators, namely MACD, RSI & Stochastic are indicating that the index is likely to continue moving higher.

"Hence, we opine that the index may likely continue on its upward trajectory, retesting the 1,615-1,620 immediate resistance in the near term. Not only that, with the end of the year approaching, 'window-dressing' will likely come into play which will give the index and the overall market a boost in this coming weeks.

"Globally, the US market continue[s] to perform strongly, hitting record highs. This may also have a positive impact on our local market as a whole.

"Major downtrend remains. 'Window dressing' play likely to unfold in the near term," it said.