KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI failed to hold on to its gains over the morning session despite the bullish rally on Wall Street overnight as disappointing earnings from US tech giants weighed on sentiment.
At 12.30pm, the benchmark index was 1.72 points in the red at 1,488.08.
The Bursa Malaysia Technology Index also retraced its early-morning gains to end nearly flat.
Anxieties over the ongoing corporate earnings period has tempered bullish global sentiment over the recent Federal Reserve interest rate guidance.
Investors are sensing a weak earnings season ahead as corporates struggle with the high inflation and interest rates as well as disruption to the supply chain.
US futures points to a retreat when the market opens for trading tonight, with the S&P500 and Nasdaq indices paring their gains from the previous session.
On Bursa Malaysia, the market showed a negative breadth with 466 decliners compared with 387 gainers.
Trading volume was 2.57 billion shares valued at RM1.19bil.
Banks and telcos led the decline on the blue-chip FBM KLCI with Maybank dropping four sen to RM8.68, CIMB losing six sen to RM5.64, Axiata sliding six sen to RM3.01 and Digi falling nine sen to RM4.21.
Holding on to earlier gains was IHH adding 11 sen to RM6.06 and Press Metal
rising six sen to RM5.36 on an improved earnings outlook.
Among active stocks, Borneo Oil was flat at two sen, Sapura Energy unchanged at five sen and Zentech down one sen to six sen.
Regionally, Japan's Nikkei was up 0.3% to 27,497 and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.6% to 2,482.
China's composite index however dropped 1.4% to 3,240 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng topped losses in the region with a 1.8% decline to 21,558.
Meanwhile, Australia's ASX200 gained 0.7% to 7,560.
