KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's main stock index plunged 1.9% in the early session as investors fled risky assets in light of the rising tariffs conflict between the US and its trading partners.
At 12.30pm, the FBM KLCI was down 28.42 points to 1,491.73, falling below the 1,500 psychological support to signal a new leg in the market's ongoing downtrend.
Since end-February, the FBM KLCI has lost about 6% of its value to descend to its lowest level in nearly 14 months.
This comes amid a volatile trading landscape that has sent the S&P500 to the edge of correction territory, resulting from US President Donald Trump's trade policies and the various turns taken in the implementation of US tariffs.
The FBM KLCI, however, was one of the worst-performers in the region on Wednesday, followed by Thailand's SET index, which was down 1.5% as at midday.
Australia's ASX200 dropped 1.6% to 7,762.
In China, the composite index dipped 0.14% to 3,375 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.67% to 23,623.
Japan's Nikkei rose 0.1% to 26,819, and Singapore's Straits Times gained 0.18% to 3,832.
Bursa Malaysia also experienced a broader sell-off with 558 registered gainers compared to 269 decliners. Turnover was 1.6 billion shares valued at RM1.21bil.
Among the blue chips leading the FBM KLCI lower, PETRONAS Dagangan shed 38 sen to RM16.32, Kuala Lumpur Kepong dropped 18 sen to RM20.30 and Tenaga Nasional fell 18 sen to RM13.22.
In the bank sector, CIMB shed 18 sen to RM7.08, Hong Leong Bank lost 10 sen to RM20.04, Public Bank dipped five sen to RM4.36 and RHB slipped six sen to RM6.80. Maybank backed away two sen to RM10.22.
