KUALA LUMPUR: Profit-taking drove Bursa Malaysia deeper into negative territory at midday break.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 5.84 points to 1,549.75, down from the previous day's close of 1,555.59.
The broader market was also negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 582 to 314, with 433 unchanged.
On the index board, FBM100 fell by 0.31 per cent to 11,163.52, FBMEMAS decreased by 0.34 per cent to 11,510.29, and FBMACE declined by 1.22 per cent to 4,821.30.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said traders will be focusing on companies with strong fundamentals during the corporate earnings season to seek trading opportunities.
"We noticed consumer, especially the poultry counter and oil and gas (O&G) companies released solid results, thus trading interest will be revolving around these sectors for today."Meanwhile, we like the technology sector on the back of the National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe) 2.0 project, coupled with the plantation sector on the back of firmer crude palm oil futures (FCPO) prices," it added.
On the commodity market, Malacca Securities highlighted a decline of over 1 per cent in Brent oil prices due to concerns about global demand, despite some price support from tensions in the Middle East.