KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 7): The FBM KLCI started the day on a soft noted after yesterday’s fall and the overnight loss on Wall Street, weighed by select index-linked stocks including Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd and Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd.

At 9am, the FBM KLCI was 2.31 points or 0.14% lower at 1,692.33.

In a note today, JF Apex Securities Research said US equities closed lower following disappointing earnings. European markets also fell after Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged, while global oil prices declined further.

“On the local bourse, the FBM KLCI plunged 30.92 points to 1,694.64 points on foreign selling. Following the bearish sentiment in the US and Europe, we expect further downside with immediate support at 1,685 points,” said the research house.

The top losers included Petronas Dagangan, Hong Leong Bank, VS Industry Bhd, Tasco Bhd, KKB Engineering Bhd, Lafarge Malaysia Bhd, Enra Group Bhd, Pestech International Bhd, Century Logistics Holdings Bhd and Hong Leong Financial Group.

Reuters said Asian shares got off on the back foot on Friday, on track for a weekly loss, following Wall Street lower as caution reigned ahead of the US employment data that may help determine whether the US Federal Reserve would raise interest rates as early as next month.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares ex- Japan was down 0.3% this morning, down about 1.6% for the week, after the US equities logged solid losses in the wake of disappointing earnings results, it said.

Asian equities were mostly down, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.27%, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.46%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 120.72 points, or 0.7%, to 17,419.75 points yesterday, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 16.28 points, or 0.8%, to 2,083.56 points, and the  Nasdaq Composite declined 83.50 points, or 1.6%, to 5,056.44 points.