KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 ― Bursa Malaysia remained in the red at mid-day, prompted by profit taking in selected heavyweights, finance and small cap shares, said dealers.

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) stood at 1,766.12, easing 2.03 points against Monday's close of 1,768.15.

The index opened 0.31 of-a-point better and fluctuated between 1,765.14 and 1,770.43 points in the session.

Decliners led gainers 464 to 386 with 386 counters unchanged, 564 untraded and 26 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.71 billion shares worth RM1.23 billion.

A dealer said the performance of the local bourse mirrored some its regional peers with Japan's Nikkei down 0.11 per cent to 19,874.75 and the Philippines Stock Exchange Composite Index (PSEi) trimming 0.24 per cent to 7,943.15.    

Of the heavyweights, Maybank declined one sen to RM9.38, while TNB and Public Bank fell two sen each to RM13.90 and RM19.98 respectively, and Sime Darby flat at RM9.32.

Among actives, Netx Holdings rose one sen to 9.5 sen, while Globaltec Formation and AirAsia X   declined half-a-sen each to seven sen and 49.5 sen.

The FBM Emas Index contracted 14.98 points to 12,637.81, the FBMT100 Index fell 11.76 points to 12,269.46 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index eased 9.35 points to 12,986.44.

The FBM Ace slid 24.05 points to 6,301.31 and the FBM 70 shed 5.92 points to 15,182.05.

Sector-wise, the Finance Index weakened 15.34 points to 16,317.88, the Industrial Index slid 5.68 points to 3,239.08 and the Plantation Index was 13.42 points lower at 8,057.83. ― Bernama