KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's stock benchmark ended the early session a third of a percent lower as investors weighed the risks to China following the US presidential elections.
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 5.18 points to 1,609.9, while the broader market registered 605 counters in the red as compared to 282 gainers.
The broader sectors on Bursa Malaysia were mostly negative, with only utilities and construction bucking the market decline.
The share turnover was 1.31 billion changing hands for RM1.11bil.
According to Reuters, there are growing anxieties ahead of the Nov 5 US elections as investors considered the prospect of a victory by Republican candidate Donald Trump.
China's composite index was seen sliding 0.86% to 3,258 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.86% to 20,316.
Japan's Nikkei rose 1.11% to 39,333 while Singapore's Straits Times shed 0.89% to 3,558.
Back home, blue chips on the slide included CIMB dropping eight sen to RM8.01, Maxis losing 13 sen to RM3.67, Kuala Lumpur Kepong shedding 14 sen to RM21.50, MISC dropping three sen to RM7.50 and Genting Malaysia falling two sen to RM2.27.
Of actives, MYEG fell 2.5 sen to 84 sen, Talam Transform
was unchanged at two sen and Niche Capital Emas gained one sen to 19.5 sen.
