KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia extended its downtrend to close lower at midday dragged by profit-taking activities in the financial services and utilities sectors.
At 12.30pm, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped 0.27 per cent or 4.39 points to 1,618.73 versus Thursday's close of 1,623.12.
The key index opened 0.39 points lower at 1,622.73 and moved between 1,617.17 and 1,622.97 in the morning trading session.
Losers led gainers 635 to 430 while 467 counters were unchanged.
FBM100 tumbled 0.34 per cent to 12,114.06, FBM Emas dropped 0.33 per cent to 12,540.83 and FBM Ace added 0.15 per cent to 5,951.12.
Sunway Construction Group Bhd emerged as the top gainer, adding 3.27 per cent or 15 sen to RM4.74 and EG Industries Bhd rose 6.93 per cent or 14 sen to RM2.16.
On the losing end, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd lost RM1.20 to RM39.80 and Nestle (M) Bhd dropped 90 sen to RM119.90.