KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 20): The FBM KLCI stayed in the negative zone at the midday break today, in line with the regional markets that retreated.

Sentiment at the local bourse also remained tepid, as investors turned bearish.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI fell 6.87 points to 1,622.35.

Losers hammered gainers by 706 to 141, while 248 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.24 billion shares, valued at RM909.93 million.

The top decliners included Latitude Tree Holdings Bhd, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, KESM Industries Bhd, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, Top Glove Corporation Bhd, Lay Hong Bhd, Shangri-La Hotels (Malaysia) Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd and Can-One Bhd.

The actives included Nexgram Holdings Bhd, Instacom Group Bhd, K-One Technology Bhd, IFCA MSC Bhd, Borneo Oil Bhd and Cybertowers Technology Bhd.

Meanwhile, the gainers included Guiness Anchor Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Huat Lai Resources Bhd, Scientex Bhd, Aeon Credit Services (M) Bhd, Danainfra Nasional Bhd, Petronas Gas Bdh and Asia File Corporation Bhd.

Asian share markets were in full retreat on Wednesday, as a relentless slide in oil prices soured an attempted rally on Wall Street and dealt a further blow to global investors' appetite for riskier assets, according to Reuters.

U.S. crude wallowed at its lowest since 2003, after the world's energy watchdog warned the market could "drown in oversupply". U.S. crude futures shed 53 cents to US$27.93, while Brent crude lost 24 cents to US$28.52 a barrel, it said.

AffinHwang Capital Research said bearish sentiments from China’s sell-offs, yuan devaluation and tension in the middle east, may drag our local market lower.

“Weak ringgit, sliding oil price and continuous strengths of US dollar, pose negative catalysts for local market.

“The FBM KLCI is to consolidate further, mainly due to external factors,” 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.)