by NG MIN SHEN

Bursa Malaysia remained in the red at the midday break today on continued concerns arising from the ongoing US-China trade spat and declining crude oil prices.

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 18.47 points to 1,691.28, below the critical 1,700 level, the lowest level in over 15 months.

The key index moved between 1,710.71 and 1,689.0 during the morning trading session compared to Wednesday’s close of 1,709.75.

Losers thumped gainers 649 to 171, while 316 counters were unchanged, 782 were untraded and 35 others suspended. Turnover stood at 1.23 billion shares, valued at RM1.07 billion.

Gainers included Genting Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, IOI Corp Bhd, RHB Bank Bhd and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd.

Among the laggards Telekom Malaysia Bhd fell 39 sen to RM3.24, Tenaga Nasional Bhd slipped 32 sen to RM13.94, Public Bank Bhd declined 32 sen to RM22.46, Hong Leong Bank Bhd dropped 80 sen to RM17.66, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd erased 72 sen to settle at RM17.60, Petronas Dagangan Bhd slid 82 sen to RM24.04 and Axiata Group Bhd lost 12 sen to hit RM4.25.