KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia extended its downtrend to close lower at midday dragged by selling activities in heavyweights such as financial services and plantation sectors.
At 12.30pm, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dropped 0.48 per cent or 7.40 points to 1,540.59 versus Wednesday's close of 1,547.99.
The key index opened at 1,547.29 and moved between 1,539.21 and 1,548.42 in the morning trading session.
The broader market saw decliners led gainers 521 to 399 while 463 counters remained unchanged.
The index board was a sea of red with FBM100 dropping 0.34 per cent to 11,242.70, FBM Emas shed 0.32 per cent to 11,603.41 and FBM Ace lost 0.21 per cent to 4,937.35.
Top gainers included Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd which gained 90 sen to RM120 and Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd which was up 24 sen to RM30.34. On the losing end, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd tumbled 80 sen to RM32.70 and Petronas Dagangan Bhd lost 38 sen to RM21.90.