KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 — Bursa Malaysia’s key index extended its downtrend to mid-afternoon on lack of catalysts.

At 3.05pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 8.63 points to 1,530.71 from Thursday’s close of 1,539.34.  

Market breadth was negative with losers outpacing gainers 569 to 398, while 408 counters were unchanged, 937 untraded and 15 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 3.36 billion units worth RM2.12 billion.

Among the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals advanced five sen to RM8.13, IHH Healthcare went up three sen to RM6.67, Hong Leong Bank climbed four sen to RM18.68, Maybank declined four sen to RM8.11, and Public Bank shed three sen to RM4.03.

Of the actives, Kejuruteraan Asastera improved 3.5 sen to 43 sen, Opcom surged 15 sen to RM1.15, Dagang NeXchange eased two sen to 81 sen, and Pasukhas inched down half-a-sen to six sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 44.32 points to 11,260.51, the FBMT 100 Index was 50.17 points lower at 10,954.36, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index fell 37.83 points to 12,275.70.  

The FBM 70 shed 23.39 points to 14,948.71 while the FBM ACE improved 35.21 points to 7,156.75.   

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index decreased 47.73 points to 6,299.20 and the Financial Services Index trimmed 67.13 points to 15,204.23, while the Industrial Products and Services Index added 0.43 of-a-point to 200.28. — Bernama