KUALA LUMPUR: A global equity sell-off continued to pressure Bursa Malaysia at midday.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slipped 5.25 points to 1,671.40, down from Tuesday's close of 1,676.65.

The key index opened 14 points lower at 1,662.65.

On the broader market, losers outnumbered gainers 774 to 243, with 382 counters unchanged, 1,042 untraded and nine suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.84 billion units valued at RM1.42 billion.

An analyst said investors are concerned about a potential global economic slowdown following the US's latest lower-than-expected manufacturing data.

"The US ISM manufacturing PMI increased to 47.2 from 46.8 in July but fell short of the market expectation of 47.5.

"This uncertainty has also led to a sharp decline in oil prices, hitting a nine-month low," he said.

He added the market is now closely watching the US non-farm payroll report due this Friday for insights into future US monetary policy decisions.

Among heavyweights, Maybank gained four sen to RM10.74, Public Bank fell four sen to RM4.76, CIMB was down six sen at RM8.19, Tenaga Nasional rose 14 sen to RM15.04 and IHH Healthcare increased by one sen to RM6.39.

In active counters, TWL and Talam Transform were flat at 2.5 sen and 3.0 sen respectively, Vetece declined four sen to 55.5 sen and Elridge Energy eased two sen to 42 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index dropped 59.57 points to 12,438.05, the FBM Emas Shariah Index lost 62.77 points to 12,248.56, and the FBMT 100 Index shed 51.56 points to 12,138.70. The FBM 70 Index fell 124.34 points to 17,392.15, while the FBM ACE Index decreased by 65.06 points to 5,159.74.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index slid 59.86 points to 19,602.15, the Plantation Index weakened by 33.66 points to 7,214.37, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 1.57 points to 178.39, and the Energy Index slipped by 14.92 points to 901.66.