KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 ― Bursa Malaysia remained lower at mid-afternoon, with the key index falling by 0.6 per cent, weighed down by index-linked stocks led by Petronas Chemicals and Public Bank.

At 3.10pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 8.84 points to 1,442.69 from 1,451.53 at yesterday's close.

On the broader market, losers trounced gainers at 502 versus 294, while 452 counters were unchanged, 1,104 untraded and 12 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 2.14 billion units worth RM1.10 billion.

Among the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals dipped 21 sen to RM6.80, Public Bank fell four sen to RM4.09, IOI Corp dropped six sen to RM3.96, while Sime Darby Plantation and TNB both narrowed six sen to RM4.33 and RM10.00, respectively.

Of the actives, Perdana Petroleum increased 2.5 sen to 21 sen, Parkson advanced 4.5 sen to 36.5 sen, Awanbiru expanded by six sen to 23.5 sen, Widad and Tanco were flat at 44 sen and 54.5 sen, while Bahvest went down four sen to 32.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 52.47 points to 10,645.51, the FBMT 100 Index slid by 53.76 points to 10,330.10, the FBM Emas Shariah Index decreased 62.69 points to 10,870.48, the FBM 70 Index contracted 32.99 points to 14,104.99, and the FBM ACE Index slid 25.70 points to 5,259.86.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.88 points weaker at 168.23, the Plantation Index gave up 74.82 points to 6,955.78, the Energy Index rose 6.72 points to 817.99, and the Financial Services Index declined 57.01 points to 16,211.22. ― Bernama