KUALA LUMPUR (July 8): The FBM KLCI pared some of its losses at the midday break today but remained below the important 1,700 point level in line with the decline at most regional markets.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 0.8% or 13.69 points to 1,698.61. The index had earlier fallen to its intra morning low of 1,693.35.

Losers thumped gainers by 699 to 108, while 207 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.05 billion shares valued at RM969.44 million shares.

The top losers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, AMM Holdings Bhd, Latitude Tree Holdings Bhd, KESM Industries Bhd, Prestariang Bhd, Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, RHB Capital Bhd and MISC Bhd.

The actively traded stocks included AirAsia Bhd, Eden Inc Bhd, Frontken Corporation Bhd, IFCA MSC Bhd, JAKS Resources Bhd, APFT Bhd and AirAsia X Bhd.

The gainers included Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Top Glove Corporation Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd and Time Dotcom Bhd.

Asian shares tumbled to a 1 1/2-year low on Wednesday and the safe-haven yen rallied as Chinese stocks struggled to pull out of a tailspin, shaking investors already rattled by Greece's debt crisis, according to Reuters.

The drop in China extended a savage correction that has clipped 30 percent off Chinese shares since mid-June, threatening a new blow to the country's already slowing economy despite a slew of market support steps from Beijing, it said.

AffinHwang Capital Reseach said bearish global stock markets, combined with absence of local catalyst may lead the FBM KLCI to test 1700.

“Times of turbulence seen in money market, Greek struggles to solve its liquidity problem,

“Technically the local market is anticipated to be trapped in a two-month downtrend channel influenced by volatile currency and commodity markets,” it said.