KUALA LUMPUR (July 4): The FBM KLCI had a muted start ahead of the festive holiday season in the middle of this week, in line with the subdued regional markets.

At 9.10am, the FBM KLCI was up 1.78 points to 1,648.00.

The gainers included Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd.

Asian share markets took a step back on Monday, while the Australian dollar dropped after no clear winner emerged from a weekend election, according to Reuters.

Activity across much of the region was subdued as investors took stock of the potential economic fallout from the Brexit vote after days of volatile trade, and as U.S. financial and commodity markets will be closed on Monday for the Independence Day holiday, it said.

JF Apex Securities Research in a market preview said US markets ended higher on Friday in a fourth straight day of gains after extending the post-Brexit rebound.

It said that similarly, European stocks also rose after Bank of England Governor's dovish speech that suggests deploying stimulus.

“On the local market, the FBM KLCI lost 7.86 points to 1646.22 points as investors took profit from the post-Brexit rebound.
“Following last week's surge, the FBM KLCI could consolidate below the resistance of 1665 points,” it said.