KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 27): The FBM KLCI fell 9.84 points or 0.6% as investors took profit across Asian share markets ahead of the US Federal Reserve's two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

The FOMC meeting, which ends tomorrow, is closely watched as its outcome will offer clues on the timing of US interest rate hikes. A rate rise does not bode well for Asian assets as investors turn their attention to US-dollar denominated entities.

Reuters reported that most Southeast Asian stock markets fell on Tuesday as investors put money off the table ahead of the US Federal Reserve's two-day meeting, with Singapore snapping a four-day rising streak and Indonesia retreating after two days of rallies.

In Malaysia, the KLCI settled at 1,696.95 at 5pm. The ringgit weakened to 4.2590 against the US dollar.

Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd head of research Chan Ken Yew told theedgemarkets.com that the Malaysian share market was undergoing correction after the Budget 2016 announcement.

Chan said Kenanga had no idea on the extent of the KLCI's correction.

"Our selling zone is 1,700 points to 1,720 points, but we do not know to what extent the correction would continue. As of now, we see strong support at 1,660 points," he said.

Across Bursa Malaysia, decliners outran gainers at 588 to 269 while 296 stocks remained unchanged. There were 1.89 billion shares worth RM1.88 billion traded.

Top gainers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd and Seremban Engineering Bhd, while the leading decliner was Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd.

RGB International Bhd topped the most-active list.

(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.)