KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI slipped into the red as profit-taking activities pressured the market after the recent surge in equities prices.
The benchmark was down 2.98 points at 1,645.72 as trade was halted for the lunch break. Over the early session, the index had traded within a 23-point band of 1,637.45 to 1,660.29
The overall market was also negative with 667 decliners compared to 365 gainers after 2.39 billion shares changed hands for a trading value of RM2.18bil.
Most of the broader market sectors were in the red, although financial services stocks managed to stand out for yet another day as investors picked them as proxies for the economy.
The country's heavyweight banks, however, were mixed as profit-takers cashed out of yesterday's recent gains. Public Bank marched higher by 12 sen to RM4 and Maybank added two sen to RM10.62 while CIMB dropped 17 sen to MR7.80.
YTL-related shares saw deep selling with YTL Power diving 27 sen to RM3.93 and YTL Corp shedding 27 sen to RM3.20.
Top actives on the market were Cape EMS down 2.5 sen to 39.5 sen, Velocity flat at 6.5 sen and MYEG shedding two sen to 91 sen.
As Malaysia's bourse took a breather, there was some mixed movement in regional markets.
Japan's Nikkei jumped 2.21% to 38,215 while Singapore's Straits Times added 0.6 sen to 3,375.
China's composite index fell 0.98% to 2,865 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 0.36% to 17,506.
