KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — The benchmark index FBM KLCI turned marginally lower at mid-afternoon today, bucking the regional trend, with improving Asian stocks, a dealer said.

At 3pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 0.24 of-a-point to 1,598.08.

The benchmark index opened 6.12 points better at 1,604.44.

Market breadth was negative, with losers outpacing gainers 450 to 250, with 335 counters unchanged, 907 untraded and 24 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.03 billion worth RM645.14 billion.

Among the heavyweight losers, Tenaga slipped 28 sen to RM11.26, PChem declined 19 sen to RM8.56, IOI and Harta both reduced six sen each to RM4.20 and RM5.09, respectively, while AMMB lost 11 sen to RM4.22.

Of the actively-traded stocks, Armada added 1.5 sen to 20 sen, KNM reduced 1.5 sen to 18.5 sen, Ekovest was 4.5 sen easier at 72.5 sen and VC was flat at 25 sen. 

The FBM Emas Index up 4.87 points to 11,192.79, the FBMT 100 Index increased 8.24 points to 11,050.05 and the FBM 70 rose 50.60 points to 13,600.13

The FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 15.80 points to 11,299.70 and the FBM Ace eased 28.41 points to 4,260.59.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index added 33.52 points to 16,568.09, the Plantation Index climbed 3.34 points to 6,820.43 but the Industrial Products & Services Index was 1.35 points lower at 160.66. — Bernama