KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 28): The FBM KLCI remained in the red at the midday break today as losers outpaced gainers and the ringgit weakened further against the US dollar.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 5.98 points to 1,609.03.

Losers led gainers by 396 to 258, while 260 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1 billion shares valued at RM715.87 million.

Meanwhile, the ringgit weakened to a fresh 17-year low of 4.4058 against the US dollar.

The top losers in the morning session today included Nestle (M) Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Aeon Credit Services (M) Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, LPI Capital Bhd, MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd and Xingquan International Sports Holdings Bhd.

The actively traded stocks included IFCA MSC Bhd, The Media Shoppe Bhd, AirAsia Bhd, Privasia Technology Bhd, APFT Bhd, UEM Sunrise Bhd and Sumatec Resources Bhd.

The top gainers included United Plantations Bhd, Lay Hong Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, SAM Engineering & Equipment Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, KLCC Properties Holdings Bhd and Sime Darby Bhd.

Asian stocks sagged on Monday after Wall Street’s uninspiring Friday performance and ahead of key economic indicators, while the dollar consolidated its gains against the yen and euro, according to Reuters.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan stood virtually flat. Shanghai shares fell 0.3%. Financial markets in South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan were closed Monday for public holidays, it said.

M & A Securities head of research Rosnani Rasul said the adjustment in US interest rate will push the US dollar higher at the expense of the rest of the world’s currency, taking along with it global commodity prices.

“With China still grappling to get its big economic ship sailing, lack of catalyst for that matter will weigh on sentiment.

“Hence, we expect another choppy if not persistent stock market gyration this week,” she said.

(Note: The Edge Research’s fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)