KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 10): The FBM KLCI pared some of its loss at mid-morning today but sentiment stayed tepid.

At 10.01am, the FBM KLCI was down 3.14 points to 1,668.57. The index had dipped to a low of 1,666.51.

The top losers included Petronas Gas Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Latitude Tree Holdings Bhd, Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd, S P Setia Bhd, Maxis Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and Genting Bhd.

The actives included HSS Engineers Bhd, Dagang NeXchange Bhd, Malaysia Building Society Bhd, Vivocom Intl Holdings Bhd, SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd and Borneo Oil Bhd.

The gainers included Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd, Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Bhd, Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd, British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd, Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd, Pos Malaysia Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, Scientex Bhd and HSS Engineers.

Asian shares held near one-year highs on Wednesday as investors pared expectations slightly for a Federal Reserve interest rate increase following weak US productivity data, which drove the dollar and Treasury yields lower, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan rose 0.1%, staying near a one-year high hit the previous day. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.6% on the yen's gains, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said the FBM KLCI is likely to stay sideways but with an upside bias to break 1,675 soon, as sentiment is boosted by stimulus measures and accommodative policies of central banks and government to spur flagging economy.

"However, further strong upside may be capped, given the nagging concern in China economy, lack of fresh local re-rating catalysts and the ongoing Aug reporting season," it said.