KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed in the red at midday dragged by selling pressures in the healthcare and property sectors.
At 12.30pm, FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM) KLCI was down 0.3 per cent or 4.86 points to 1,636.80 versus Thursday's close of 1,641.66.
The key index which opened at 1,643.33 moved between 1,634.12 and 1,644.44 in the morning trading session.
Losers led gainers 876 to 180 in the broader market while 353 counters were unchanged.
FBM100 lost 0.59 per cent to 12,020.56, FBM Emas shed 0.7 per cent to 12,339.28 and FBM Ace was down 1.85 per cent to 5,176.32.
Maybank Investment Bank Bhd said trading will be choppy on the last trading day of the week as profit-taking may intensify ahead of the weekend break.
"Besides corporate earnings, Jerome Powell's speech on Friday will have a knock-on effect on the local bourses.
"Technically, we expect the benchmark index to range between 1,635 and 1,655 today, with supports at 1,623and 1,596," it said.