KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 12): The FBM KLCI struggled to sustain its gains and slipped marginally at the midday break today on mild profit taking on select blue chip stocks.

At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI slipped 1.72 points to 1,704.82. The index had earlier climbed to its intra-morning high of 1,719.90.

Decliners outpaced advancers by 369 to 318, while 322 counters traded unchanged. Volume was 1.10 billion shares valued at RM896.79 million.

The top losers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Magni-Tech Industries Bhd, Genting Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd, Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd, Latitude Tree Holdings Bhd and Genting Malaysia Bhd.

The actively traded stocks included AirAsia Bhd, Instacom Group Bhd, iDimension Consolidated Bhd, Tiger Synergy Bhd, XOX Bhd, Sumatec Resources Bhd and Daya Materials Bhd.

The gainers included Teck Guan Perdana Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd, Panasonic Malaysia Manufacturing Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Innoprise Holdings Bhd, Top Glove Corporation Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd and Public Bank Bhd.

Asian shares rose on Monday, extending an October rally, as investors hunted for bargains in industrials and basic materials, fueled by a rebound in commodities while the dollar struggled as hopes of a Fed rate rise this year grew even dimmer, according to Reuters.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.7%, extending an impressive 11% rise this month as investors unwound some of their long US dollar and short commodities and emerging markets trades, it said.

BIMB Securities Research said that on earlier trading, stock markets across Asia rallied last Friday following dovish minutes from the US Federal Reserve, easing investor interest rate fears.

Locally, it said the FBM KLCI gained 14.34 points or 0.85% to 1,706.54, lifted mainly by oil and gas and plantation counters.

"Trading participation saw net buying by foreign institutions while local institutions and retail were net sellers.

"We reckon the local market to remain positive today due to improved global sentiment and the returning of foreign investors and expect the index to hover around 1,715–1,720," 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.)