KUALA LUMPUR (March 1): The FBM KLCI pared some of its loss at mid-morning today but remained marginally below the crucial 1,700-point level, weighed by losses at heavyweights Tenaga Nasional Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd.

At 10.05am, the FBM KLCI was down 8.03 points to 1,699.70. The index had earlier slipped to a low of 1,696.72.

Losers led gainers by 362 to 221, while 277 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 625.24 million shares valued at RM351.32 million.

The top losers included Tenaga, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Rapid Synergy Bhd, MNRB Holdings Bhd, CIMB, PBA Holdings Bhd, Mesiniaga Bhd, Brahim's Holdings Bhd and Harrisons Holdings (M) Bhd.

The actives included Bumi Armada Bhd, Sino Hua-An International Bhd, Daya Materials Bhd, Vivocom International Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd, Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd and Barakah Offshore Petroleum Bhd.

The gainers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Apex Healthcare Bhd, Time dotCom Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd, Yinson Holdings Bhd and MAA Group Bhd.

Local sentiment also took a hit after the health of Malaysia's goods-producing economy deteriorated for a fifth successive month during February, with continued declines seen in both output and new orders.

The Nikkei Malaysia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index registered 47.6 in February, down from 47.9 in January, thereby pointing to a sharper deterioration in manufacturing sector business conditions.

Stocks in Asia notched up gains early Friday, with Japanese shares helped by overnight weakness in the yen. US shares earlier edged lower amid a mixed set of economic signals. Treasury yields held on to gains, according to Bloomberg.

Japanese equities posted the bulk of gains ahead of the open in Hong Kong and China, where focus will be on MSCI Inc's announcement that it will boost the weight of domestic so-called A shares in its global benchmarks. The S&P 500 Index slipped as lingering concerns over trade and geopolitical risks dented sentiment, despite a report showing the US economy cooled less than expected last quarter, it said.

CIMB Retail Research said there was no pre- and post-Chinese New Year stock market rally in February 2019.

However, the research house said the growing optimism over the US-China trade talks in the third week of February was one of the main deviations from its expectation of decline.

"The FBM KLCI Index was up 24 points or 1.4% month-on-month.

"As we head into the month of March, the follow-through buying interest in the local stock market is not likely to carry on as the index is expected to face strong selling pressure at or near the 200-day and 200-week EMAs (exponential moving averages).

"Shares on Bursa may see some bargain-hunting activities but the upside may not be significant. Resistance: 1,730 & 1,750. Support: 1,700 & 1,682," it said.