FBM KLCI slides into the red at midday after strong start

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI erased earlier gains and slid into negative territory by the mid-morning as it succumbed to profit-taking pressure.

While equity markets in the region were led higher by Japan's Nikkei, Malaysia's stock index took the opportunity to cool off after the previous day's strong rebound.

The FBM KLCI dropped 4.16 points to 1,747.14, about a quarter percent off the previous day's close, after spending the morning trading from 1,745.61 to 1,761.57. 

Lower liners on the markets were held afloat by retail participation, with the ticker board registering 450 gainers compared to 461 decliners. Trading volume was 1.48 billion shares valued at RM1.14bil.

Traders were seen rotating out of financial services after the rapid run-up in recent days, sliding back 0.1%. Healthcare was leading gainer, rising 1.23%, while plantations rose 0.26%.

Among active stocks on Bursa Malaysia, MMAG was flat at 4.5 sen, Pharmaniaga unchanged at 30 sen and Zetrix AI down one sen to 79.5 sen.

Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei soared 2.14% to 57,571 amid ongoing optimism over fresh stimulus measures. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.19% to 5,308.

In China, the Shanghai Composite index was flat at 4,122 while the CSI300 was also unchanged at 4,719. Hong Kong's Hang Seng picked up half a percent at 27,173.