KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia edged lower at midday, weighed down by profit-taking in heavyweight stocks, led by the financial, utilities, and consumer products sectors.

At the lunch break, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 0.19 per cent or 3.22 points to 1,639.55 from its previous close of 1,642.77.

The index opened 1.05 points lower at 1,641.72 and moved between 1,635.59 and 1,646.38 during the morning session.

On the broader market, decliners outnumbered advancers 472 to 437, with 477 counters unchanged, 1,094 untraded, and seven suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.97 billion units valued at RM1.45 billion.

In a note today, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said that with the slight pullback on Wall Street, profit-taking may extend to local technology stocks.

"Additionally, the strong ringgit could dampen interest in local tech companies.

"However, attention may shift to the consumer, building material, construction, property, renewable energy, and shipping sectors, given expectations of steadier earnings ahead of corporate results," it said.

The stock broking firm said that the monkeypox (Mpox) outbreak could be monitored for potential trading opportunities within healthcare stocks.

Among the heavyweights, CIMB Group added 7.0 sen to RM7.92, IHH Healthcare increased 2.0 sen to RM6.34, and Maybank dropped 2.0 sen to RM10.58.

Public Bank decreased 6.0 sen to RM4.61, Tenaga Nasional shaved 14.0 sen to RM13.86, and MR D.I.Y eased 7.0 sen to RM2.08.

These three companies collectively dragged down the key index by 4.49 points.

Among the actives, Cape EMS and MY E.G. Services recouped 3.0 sen each to 43.0 sen and 93.5 sen, respectively, Wentel Engineering increased by 1.5 sen to 35.0 sen, Tanco Holdings climbed 3.5 sen to RM1.01, and Oversea Enterprise was unchanged at 5.5 sen.