KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia continued its downtrend to end the morning trading session lower.
At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 1.89 points to 1,613.29, paring losses after hitting a low of 1,610.65 earlier in the day.
The index opened 1.19 points lower at 1,613.99 and fluctuated between 1,610.65 and 1,614.58 during the session.
In the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 569 to 307, while 518 counters were unchanged, 1,129 untraded, and 52 others suspended.
Total turnover amounted to 2.35 billion units valued at RM1.24 billion.
Malacca Securities Research said the FBMKLCI and the broader markets are expected to continue to trade lower as further profit-taking activities took place, tracking the weaker US stock market performance.
"Also, traders will be watching out for the core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index later tonight, as the data is crucial for the Fed to make a decision on the direction of interest rates going forward," it said in a note.
Among heavyweights, Tenaga Nasional Bhd fell six sen to RM13.94, Petronas Gas Bhd slipped eight sen to RM17.98 and YTL Corp Bhd shedding three sen to RM3.55.On the actives, Kucingko Bhd surged 28.0 sen to 58 sen, Alam Maritim Resources Bhd edged up half-a-sen to 4.0 sen and OCR Group Bhd rose one sen to 10.5 sen.