KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 ― Bursa Malaysia extended its downtrend at mid-afternoon due to the lack of positive catalysts.

At 3pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 2.50 points to 1,403.60 from 1,406.10 at yesterday’s close.

The key index opened 1.44 points firmer at 1,407.54.

The broader market was negative as decliners outpaced gainers 520 to 331, while 358 counters were unchanged, 1,077 untraded and 14 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 2.19 billion units worth RM1.12 billion.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank and Public Bank eased one sen to RM8.84 and RM3.98, respectively, CIMB lost six sen to RM5.23 and Tenaga Nasional decreased four sen to RM9.09, while IHH Healthcare gained two sen to RM5.82.

Of the actives, Classita and Advance Synergy increased one sen to 23.5 sen and 17.5 sen, respectively, UEM Sunrise and Dolphin International added half-a-sen to 39 sen and two sen, respectively, while Widad remained at 42 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 17.02 points to 10,398.04, the FBMT 100 Index was 15.34 points weaker at 10,079.86, the FBM Emas Shariah Index slipped 8.22 points to 10,678.23 and the FBM 70 Index narrowed 10.22 points to 13,888.48, while the FBM ACE Index added 10.80 points to 5,345.44.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index shrank 40.85 points to 15,712.74 and the Energy Index trimmed 4.62 points to 807.87.

Meanwhile, the Plantation Index expanded 40.58 points to 6,919.40 and the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.28 of-a-point to 161.84. ― Bernama