KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 15): The FBM KLCI remained in negative territory at the midday break on Monday in a holiday shortened week at Bursa Malaysia, in line with the slump at most regional markets.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI fell 8.73 points to 1,846.91. The Index had earlier slipped to a low of 1.836.50.

The top losers included BAT, Nestle, KLK, HLFG, Petronas Gas, Allianz, Petronas Dagangan, KLCC, KSL, Cepco and MAHB.

Globaltec was the most actively traded counter with 160.56 million shares done. The stock was unchanged at 10.5 sen.

The other actives included Pasukhas, Luster, Focus, Nexgram, Hubline, Marco, Talam Transform and Century Software.

The gainers included United Plantations, Parkson, Brahim’s, Magni, Narra, Metal Reclamation, My E.G., Engtex, KPJ Healthcare, Sime Darby and Goldis.

Market breadth was negative with 555 losers versus 168 gainers with 269 counters unchanged. Volume was 1.04 billion shares valued at RM694.21 million.

Regionally, Asian stocks stumbled to their lowest in five weeks on Monday after a batch of weak data out of China raised the spectre of a sharp slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy, according to Reuters.

The Australian dollar, considered a liquid proxy for China plays, also took a hammering and slumped to a six-month low, it said.

Lee Cheng Hooi, Maybank IB head of retail research and chief chartist, said the FBM KLCI fell 12.82 points week-on-week to close the at 1,855.64, as some persistent selling activities led the index down last Thursday and Friday.

He said volume fell from 2.68 billion to 2.04 billion shares last week.

“With the volatile price action that emerged from the 1,896.23 to the low of 1,837.28, we advise clients to sell at the resistance areas of 1,855 to 1,896.

“The support levels of 1,802 and 1,853 will see weaker buying activities.

“With the recent sell-off from 1,896.23 to 1,837.28, we advise clients to trade in this recent price range.

Lee said small and mid-cap stocks as well as lower liners may continue to see profit-taking.

“Most speculative issues may remain very volatile for this week,”he said.