KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI fell a quarter percent in morning trade as traders opted for safety ahead of the Labour Day weekend as a jump in oil prices sparked fresh inflation fears.
Brent crude futures for June were up 6.84% to US$126.21 per barrel at the time of writing, its highest in more than four years, amid reports US President Donald Trump will resort to military strikes on Iran in an effort to force its leaders to the negotiation table.
The FBM KLCI ended the early session 4.23 points lower at 1,716.19, poised to end the trading week on a mild decline from the previous week.
Hoewever, the softer sentiment was more noticeable on the broader market as the number of declining issues outnumbered gainers 747 to 293, for a ratio of nearly three-to-one.
Trading volume was 1.65 billion shares valued at RM1.27bil.
Sectors that saw the biggest declines were financial services, property and utilities. Plantations rose a third of a percent while healthcare gained a quarter percent.
Among the day's top actives, Zetrix AI shed 5.5 sen to 80 sen, UEM Sunrise
dropped 3.5 sen to 65.5 sen and MRCB dipped one sen to 35.5 sen.
Regional shares were also wobbly from the back-to-back increases in oil prices, even as the day started with optimism over the Federal Reserve's decision to stay put on the interest rate.
Japan's Nikkei fell 0.5% to 59,006, leading the decline, while South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.93% to 6,628.
The Shanghai Composite index stayed slightly positive at 4,111, while the bue-chip CSI300 was flat at 4,809.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 1.23% to 25,789.
