KUALA LUMPUR (July 16): The FBM KLCI retreated at the midday break today, as regional markets and US stock futures fell amid worsening US-Sino relations.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI dipped 2.28 points to 1,583.28. The index had earlier risen to its intra-morning high of 1,599.53.

Losers overtook gainers by 402 to 231, while 675 counters traded unchanged. Trading volume was 6.66 billion shares valued at RM2.95 billion.

The top losers included Top Glove Corp Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Nestle (M) Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, QL Resources Bhd, Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Batu Kawan Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd and Rubberex Corp Bhd.

The actively traded stocks included NetX Holdings Bhd, Pegasus Heights Bhd, XOX Bhd, MQ Technology Bhd, Lambo Group Bhd and PDZ Holdings Bhd.

The advancers included Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Bursa Malaysia Bhd, Pentamaster Corp Bhd, Supermax Corp Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd, Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd and Duopharma Biotech Bhd.

Reuters said Asian shares and US stock futures fell on Thursday, weighed down by concern about deteriorating US-China relations and the economic cost of a resurgence in coronavirus infections that is prompting some places to reimpose containment measures.

Even news that China's economy rebounded more than expected in the second quarter from a record contraction was not enough to pull regional equities out of the red, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said KLCI is likely to witness short-term consolidation amid overbought daily and weekly slow stochastic readings after rallying 141 points or 9.6% to a six-month high of 1,617 (July 14) from a low of 1,476 on June 29, compounded by profit-taking pullback on index-linked Top Glove and Hartalega due to vaccines optimism and stricter measures imposed by investment banks to curb excessive speculation on overheated glove stocks.

“Key supports are near 1,578-1,563-1,541 whilst resistances are situated at 1,600-1,617-1,633 levels,” it said.