The stock market came under heavy selling pressure on Wednesday, with the FBM KLCI plunging nearly 20 points by midday and touching a fresh year-to-date low of 1,612.42, dragged down by heavyweight banking stocks.
At the 12.30pm break, the benchmark index was down 19.39 points, or 1.19%, at 1,613.96, compared with Tuesday’s close of 1,633.35.
The KLCI had opened marginally higher at 1,633.54 but selling emerged almost immediately, pushing the index steadily lower throughout the morning session.
The decline marks a further deterioration in the local market after the index had already fallen to successive 2026 lows in recent weeks. At the end of September, the KLCI had broken below its previous June year-to-date low amid foreign selling and rising global bond yields.
Banking heavyweights were among the biggest drags on Wednesday.
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd tumbled 38 sen to RM7.32, while Malayan Banking Bhd slipped two sen to RM9.89 and Public Bank Bhd declined two sen to RM4.59.
The weakness pushed the Financial Services Index down 477.86 points to 18,590.14. Hong Leong Bank was also among the largest decliners, dropping 62 sen to RM21.46.
Zetrix AI Bhd, which has experienced heightened volatility following the suspension of its Road Transport Department services, was among the most actively traded counters and fell another one sen to eight sen at midday.
Market breadth remained firmly negative, with 580 decliners against 401 gainers, while 512 counters were unchanged. Some 2.37 billion shares worth RM1.70 billion changed hands during the morning session.
