KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional pulled the FBM KLCI lower after falling 44 sen to a two-year low of RM12.14.
Over the broader index, equities were routed in morning trade as a series of negative factors plagued the investment landscape.
A growing trade dispute between the US and Europe looked set to worsen the investment landscape even as US-China trade negotiations inch their way towards a deal.
Simultaneously, the start of the US corporate earnings season has unnerved investors who expect slowed profits for the recent quarter.
At 12.30pm, the local index was down 11.35 points to 1,628.11. Trading volume was 2.42 billion shares valued at RM1.1bil.
KL Kepong was sole advancing counter, rising two sen to RM24.92.
Telcos were leading decliners with Maxis in the red, sliding 10 sen to RM5.50, while Axiata fell four sen to RM4.11.
Most actively traded counters were Daya trading unchanged at one sen, Sumatec gaining 0.5 sen to 1.5 sen and Bio Osmo adding 0.5 sen to 7.5 sen.
In China, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.4% while the CSI300 dropped 2%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng slumped 1% while Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's Kospi were mostly flat.
Crude oil priced moved lower after US production levels surged to their highest in nearly 17 months while the IMF's cut in its global forecast signaled caution over demand.
US crude fell 33 cents to US64.28 a barrel while Brent crude dropped 29 cents to US$71.44 a barrel.
In currencies, the ringgit weakened 0.25% against the US dollar to 4.1172 as fears over the economy sent investors towards safer assets.
The local currency was down 0.6% against the pound sterling at 5.3943 and 0.3% against the Singapore dollar at 3.0427.
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