KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI dove nearly 20 points in early trade with heavyweight banks leading the sharp decline as investors fretted over oil prices while keeping a watchful eye for the upcoming tabling of Budget 2027.
At 12.30pm, the key index was down 19.39 point to 1,613.96, amid a negative broader market that registered 367 declining issues compared with 210 gaining. Trading volume was 2.37 billion shares valued at RM1.77bil.
By sector, financial services dropped 2.51%, telco fell 0.86%, plantations shed 0.64%, consumer slid 0.38% and property lost 0.22%
Technology stocks rose 0.89%, energy shares gained 0.42% and construction added 0.13%.
Among the blue chips, CIMB skidded 38 sen to RM7.32, Ambank dropped 26 sen to RM6.21, Hong Leong Bank fell 62 sen to RM21.46, Maybank lost eight sen to RM9.89, RHB dove 14 sen to RM7.29 and Public Bank slid eight sen to RM4.59.
On the actives list, Top Glove lost two sen to 85.5 sen, Zetrix AI shed one sen to eight sen and Metronic was unchanged at 0.5 sen.
According to Reuters, Brent crude futures for November delivery rose past the US$100 a barrel mark amid concerns over supply constraints from a storm heading for North American oil-producing regions and Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia against increased supplies of Middle East crude.
Asian markets pulled back with investors quick to take profit from the previous session's gains despite a rally in US tech shares overnight.
In Japan, the Nikkei was down 0.76% to 70,118 and South Korea's Kospi fell 1.06% to 6,867.
Shanghai's composite index rose 0.31% to 3,842 and in Hong Kong the Hang Seng was down 0.53% to 24,151.
