KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 25): The FBM KLCI pared some of its losses in the morning session today, but remained in negative territory in line with regional markets that gave up earlier gains.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 2.03 points to 1,611.14. The index had earlier dipped to its intra morning low of 1,603.02.

The top losers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Alliaz (M) Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, IJM Corporation Bhd, Tasco Bhd, Genting Plantations Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Lafarge Malaysia Bhd and Latitude Tree Holdings Bhd.

The actively-traded stocks included The Media Shoppe Bhd, IFCA MSC Bhd, Idimension Consolidated Bhd, AirAsia Bhd, UEM Sunrise Bhd, Global Oriental Bhd, Datasonic Group Bhd and KNM Group Bhd.

The top gainers included PPB Group Bhd, LPI Capital Bhd, Hartelega Holdings Bhd, Lay Hong Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd, Pestech International Bhd, JobStreet Corporation Bhd and MISC Bhd.

Asian shares gave up early gains on Friday, while the dollar firmed after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggested the central bank is still on track to raise interest rates later this year, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.4%, on track for a weekly loss of nearly 5%, it said.

AffinHwang Capital Research said global, as well as the local market, had turn cautious, and was expected to consolidate sideways, with downward bias in the near term.

“US Federal Reserve delays the rate raises concerns on global growths, China slowdown and correction in the equity and commodity markets.

“On technical, current rebound lacked of follow through buying, confidence struggles to return,” it said.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)