KUALA LUMPUR: Fears over an escalating global trade war weighed on domestic market sentiment to send equities prices lower for another day.
At the lunch break, the benchmark FBM KLCI was down 2.97 points to 1,544.3 amid selling across the market sectors.
The blue-chip index has been on a descending trend since mid-February, as the investor appetite for risky assets shrank amid an exchange of trade taxes between the US and its trading partners.
Anxieties heightened further as evidence of deflation in the Chinese economy over the weekend compounded fears that the US trade tariffs could derail global economic growth.
On the FBM KLCI, the worst-hit counters included energy and utilities, including Tenaga nasional down 12 sen to RM13.62, PETRONAS Gas falling 26 sen to RM16.62 and PETRONAS Dagangan dropping 42 sen to RM17.26
Nestle registered sharp selling, with its share price falling RM2.94 to a fresh decade low of RM69.20.
The market recorded 461 losers as compared to 173 gainers.
In key Asian markets, Chinese shares were on the backfoot amid fears over the sluggish economy.
China's composite index dropped 0.59% to 3,352 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng slumped 2.11% to 23,720.
Japan's Nikkei rose 0.28% to 26,990 while Singapore's Straits Times dipped 0.16% to 3,908.
