KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI pared losses while the broader market remained a sea of red following the sharp declines in the Wall Street indices overnight.
As the trading was halted for the lunch break, the benchmark index was down 5.25 points at 1,671.4, reflecting a return of anxiety over a potential US recession.
There were also concerns over the hyperinflated prices of US technology counters, which yesterday sent Nvidia shares tumbling nearly 10%.
Sentiment on the domestic market was dismal, with 773 shares recording losses compared to 243 gainers.
Save telcos and media, the market sectors were all in negative territory, led lower by financial services and utilities.
The share turnover was 1.84 billion changing hands for RM1.42bil.
Among the blue chips, Nestle fell RM1.80 to RM103.60, Sunway dropped seven sen to RM4.11 and PPB shed 16 sen to RM14.26.
Maybank was a rare bright spot, climbing four sen to RM10.74 amid the turmoil while Tenaga rose 14 sen to RM15.04.
In the technology sector, stocks were battered following the 3.3% retreat on the Nasdaq overnight.
Amid the laggards, Notion VTec slumped seven sen to RM1.04, UWC dove 24 sen to RM2.19 and Vitrox slid 11 sen to RM3.49.
Meanwhile, regional markets were also awash in crimson with Japan's Nikkei battered down 3.74% to 37,242.
China's composite index slipped 0.48% to 2,789, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.07% to 17,462.
Singapore's Straits Times index dropped 1.47% to 3,429.
