KUALA LUMPUR: The selling pressure in Malaysian equities continued as ongoing developments in the Iran-Israel conflict sapped appetite for equities and boosted safe-haven and energy prices.
At midday, the benchmark FBM KLCI was down 5.88 points to 1,515.11, in line with the weakness in most regional markets.
The number of declining issuers to advancers stood at a ratio of 1.63-to-1 after 2.01 billion shares changed hands for RM947.77mil.
Bank counters were led lower by Hong Leong Bank, dropping 12 sen to RM19.30 and CIMB shedding five sne to RM6.70. Maybank slid two sen to RM9.57 while RHB lost four sen to RM6.28 and Public Bank slipped two sen to RM4.21.
Port operator Westports, however, was seen surging 17 sen to RM5.20. In semiconductor-related stocks, MPI gained 14 sen to RM19.92, Vitrox jumped 10 sen to RM3.32 and Pentamaster climbed nine sen to RM2.81.
In key Asian markets, the results were mixed as the geopolitical tensions, coupled with anticipation over scheduled central bank meetings this week, left investors fumbling for sense of certainty.
In China, the composite index was down 0.19% to 3,382 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.13% to 24,028.
Japan's Nikkei rose 0.3% to 25,281 and in Singapore, the Straits Times index was up 0.28% to 3,919.
