KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 21): The FBM KLCI remained lacklustre at the midday break today in a pre-holiday lull, in line with the weaker regional markets.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI fell 0.93% or 15.22 points to 1,628.68 points.

Losers outpaced gainers by 503 to 254, while 267 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 909.35 million shares valued at RM614.57 million.

The top losers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, DanaInfra Nasional Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, PPB Group Bhd and UMW Holdings Bhd.

The actively traded stocks included Comintel Corporation Bhd, RGB International Bhd, China Automobile Parts Holdings Bhd, Instacom Group Bhd, Borneo Oil Bhd, Asia Media Bhd and XOX Bhd.

The top gainers included Nestle (M) Bhd, Top Glove Corporation Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, Scientex Bhd, Comintel, Supermax Corporation Bhd and Ta Ann Holdings Bhd.

Asian share markets advanced on Monday after a lacklustre start, defying a dive on Wall Street, and the price of Brent crude threatened to plumb lows last seen in 2004 on renewed worries over a global oil glut, according to Reuters.

Brent crude prices, which touched a seven-year low of US$36.32 overnight, were trading at US$36.47 at 0245 GMT as production around the world remained at or near record highs, and a strong dollar following last week's US rate increases weighed on demand, it said.

AffinHwang Capital Research said the local market is anticipated to trend lower on the back of bleak outlook of crude oil prices.

"ECB (European Central Bank)'s probable stimulus may offer some cushion on downside risks.

"Technically, stocks are expected to drift lower but potentially limited to 1,620 level and hence buy on weakness seems to be an attractive investment strategy particularly during December and January," it 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.)