KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI tumbled in the morning session as crude oil prices surged over the weekend while traders took cash ahead of key catalysts in the coming week.
At 12.30pm, the main index slid 9.51 points to 1,602.05, with profit-taking seen in financial heavyweights and utilities.
In banking, Maybank dropped seven sen to RM9.99, CIMB shed six sen to RM7.09 and Public Bank fell five sen to RM4.70.
Meanwhile, YTL Power dove 29 sen to RM5.03, Tenaga Nasional slid 12 sen to RM13.18 and Telekom fell four sen to RM7.76.
The US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee is scheduled to meet this week, following which it will announce its interest rate decision. CME Fedwatch Tool is currently projecting a 90.6% change the central bank will stay put on the lending rate, with only a 9.4% chance of a 25 basis points rate hike.
The pullback was seen across the broader market, which registered 507 declining counters compared to 352 gainers. The trading volume was 1.63 billion shares valued at RM807.66mil.
In the financial services sector, shares were down 0.62%, utilities dropped 0.72%, plantation shed 0.45% and construction slid 0.59%.
Comparatively, energy stocks surged 1.55% on the back of rising crude oil prices. Brent crude prices sat around US$114 a barrel after a weekend surge as Iran's strikes on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz intensified.
Stocks with the highest share turnover on Bursa Malaysia included Zetrix AI down 0.5 sen to seven sen, Axteria up 0.5 sen to 19 sen and Ni Hsin
shedding two sen to 47 sen.
Regionally, markets were mostly lower ahead of the US Fed decision. South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.47% to 5,524 and Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.41% to 62,435.
China's Shanghai Composite index slid 0.18% to 3,583 while the CSI 300 fell 0.54% to 4,083. Hong Kong's Hang Seng bucked the trend, rising 0.44% to 23,193.
