KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 5): The FBM KLCI pared some of its loss at the midday break today, but looked poised to extend its lacklustre start in September.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 5.50 points to 1,807.26. The index had earlier slipped to a low of 1,802.73.

Losers led gainers by 465 to 284, while 1,124 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.50 billion shares valued at RM1.12 billion.

The top losers included Nestle (M) Bhd. Supermax Corp Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Hong Leong Industries Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd and Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd.

The actives included My E.G. Services Bhd, Pesona Metro Holdings Bhd, Borneo Oil Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd, DBE Gurney Resources Bhd, XOX Bhd and Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd.

The gainers included UEM Edgenta Bhd, Apex Healthcare Bhd, Mi Equipment Holdings Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd and Ideal Jacobs (M) Corp Bhd.

Stock markets in Asia tracked their global peers lower while the safe-haven dollar hovered near a two-week high on Wednesday as heightened worries over international trade conflicts curbed investor appetite for riskier assets, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.5 percent, it said.

Affin Hwang Capital Research said the FBM KLCI Index closed flat (down 0.82 points) yesterday.

“Performance remained muted amidst the lack of fresh catalysts. Anticipate the index to open softer in tandem with global markets. Nonetheless, prices continue to remain in consolidation, hovering above the immediate support area.

“The FBM KLCI Index may experience upward bias in the near-term,” it said.