KUALA LUMPUR (June 21): The FBM KLCI pared some of its loss at mid-morning but was poised to end Friday on a muted note in line with regional markets.

At 10am, the FBM KLCI was down 0.55 points to 1,674.88. The index had earlier slipped to a low of 1,672.23.

Gainers led losers by 258 to 201, while 295 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 583.87 million shares valued at RM386.78 million.

The decliners included United Plantations Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Genting Malaysia Bhd, Jaycorp Bhd, Scientex Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd.

The actives included Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd, Mestron Holdings Bhd, Ekovest Bhd, Greatech Technology Bhd, Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd, Impiana Hotels Bhd and Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd.

The gainers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Yinson Holdings Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd, SAM Engineering & Equipment (M) Bhd, Magni-Tech Industries Bhd and PPB Group Bhd.

Asian stocks struggled on Friday to track Wall Street's exuberance about a possible US rate cut next month as anxiety over Sino-US trade negotiations clouded the investor mood in the region, according to Reuters.

Also tempering appetite in Asia were fresh worries about Middle East tensions, after Iran shot down a US military drone, raising fears of a military confrontation between Tehran and Washington and pushing the crude oil price higher, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said markets generally are focusing on interest rate expectations and if investors are expecting a rate cut as soon as next month, it may continue to lift the sentiment on Wall Street, at least over the near term.

"Hence, the Dow may retest the all-time high near 26,952 zone.

"Nevertheless, another major event that traders will be watching out [for] is the G20 summit, should any negative development resurfaces ahead of the G20 summit, and it may dampen the market sentiment, limiting the upside potential eventually.

"On the local front, we opine that the market may be getting a shot in the arm taking cues from overnight Wall Street performance and the KLCI could charge higher above the immediate resistance of 1,680 to retest the 1,700 psychological level. Meanwhile, traders may monitor trading activities amongst the O&G stocks as Brent oil prices ended 4.25% higher at US$64.45," it said.