KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 25): The FBM KLCI pared some of its losses at mid-morning today, in line with the tepid sentiment at most regional markets.

At 10.04am, the FBM KLCI was down 1.20 points to 1,680.86. The index had earlier slipped to a low of 1,678.64.

The top losers included Rapid Synergy Bhd, AirAsia Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kpeong Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd and Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd.

The actives included AirAsia X Bhd, TH Heavy Engineering Bhd, APFT Bhd, Borneo Oil Bhd, Iris Corp Bhd and KNM Group Bhd.

The gainers included Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd, Khind Holdings Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, MNRB Holdings Bhd, Kawan Food Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd and Selangor Properties Bhd.

Asian stocks slipped on Thursday, taking their cue from an overnight drop on Wall Street, while the dollar marked time ahead of Friday's speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen at the global central bankers' meeting, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.3%, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said it expects ongoing consolidation mode to prevail ahead of Yellen’s speech as she may provide insight on the rate outlook, given that more and more Fed officials are supportive for imminent interest rate hike in coming months.

“On the domestic front, attention is on the peak of the Aug reporting season as we embrace a flurry of big caps results that could trigger volatility in a lackluster market,” it said.