KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia dipped into negative territory in the early session, underpinned by 504 stocks in the red, as global investors opted out of riskier assets in light of recent turmoil in the Middle East.
At the midday bell, the FBM KLCI was down 3.7 points to 1,635.61, dipping below the 50-day simple moving average to suggest a strong bearish sentiment had taken root.
The market bellwether is currently trading at its lowest level in six weeks, weighed down by YTL Power, which slumped 12 sen to RM3.51 and Tenaga Nasional falling 20 sen to RM14.10.
Among the broader market sectors, financial services and plantations proved the most resilient.
Bank heavyweights that stayed positive included Hong Leong Bank rising six sen to RM21.36, Public Bank adding two sen to RM4.55 and RHB gaining five sen to RM6.16.
Of actives, OCR dipped one sen to 4.5 sen, Classita was unchanged at four sen and Lay Hong slid 0.5 sen ot 39.5 sen.
The overall market trading volume was 1.85 billion shares changing hands for RM1.12bil.
In Asian markets, sentiment remained weak overall although Japan's stocks were energised by comments from the Prime Minister that the country was not ready for additional rate hikes.
The Nikkei index rose 2.21% to 38,646 as the yen struggled on the dovish outlook.
Meanwhile, there was profit-taking in Hong Kong's shares, with the Hang Seng dropping 3.12% to 21,743.
Singapore's Straits Times index slipped 0.18% to 3,578.
