KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 24): The FBM KLCI pared some of its losses at the midday break but still remained 0.4% in the negative zone as index heavyweight Tenaga Nasional as well as Petronas Gas Bhd and MISC Bhd dragged, against the backdrop of muted regional markets.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 6.51 points to 1,607.67. The index had earlier fallen to a low of 1,602.1.

Losers led gainers by 289 to 215, while 498 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 875.06 million shares valued at RM478.69 million.

The top losers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Petronas Gas, PPB Group Bhd, Ayer Holdings Bhd, Tenaga Nasional, Malayan Cement Bhd, Allianz Malaysia Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, MISC and QL Resources Bhd.

The actives included Khee San Bhd, WCE Holdings Bhd, MCT Bhd, Solarvest Holdings Bhd, Mudajaya Holdings Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd and i-Stone Group Bhd.

The gainers included Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Hong Leong Industries Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, UEM Edgenta Bhd, SAM Engineering & Equipment Bhd, UWC Bhd and Guan Chong Bhd.

Asian stocks face a muted Christmas Eve session on Tuesday, with trading diminishing at the end of a year that took a global benchmark to successive record highs, according to Bloomberg.

After a becalmed session Monday on Wall Street, futures on Japanese and Hong Kong equity benchmarks were little changed. Australian shares opened flat. US futures were also flat after the S&P 500 closed higher for the eighth time in nine sessions. Volume Monday was more than 20% below its 100-day average for most of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average paced indexes as Boeing Co. surged after the company ousted Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg, it said.

Affin Hwang Capital Research said the FBMKLCI Index gained 4 points or 0.25%, to close at 1,614.18 on Monday.

The research house said the index is now trading around the 1,615 resistance level.

It said a strong breakout from current levels would signify the continuation of the upward trend while a stern rejection from this resistance area may signify the beginning of a downward reversal.

“In terms of technical indicators, RSI & Stochastic are hovering at overbought territories, which suggests possible limited upside in the near future.

“Major down trend remains. Window dressing play likely to unfold in the near term,” it said.