KUALA LUMPUR: : Bursa Malaysia snapped its four straight days of gains at midday Friday as investors locked in profits, as the worsening China-US trade war kept investors cautious.

At 12.30 pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI ended 4.48 points lower at 1,761.75. The index opened 2.17 points lower at 1,764.06.

In the broader market, losers thumped gainers 235 to 472 while 384 counters unchanged. About 1.17 billion shares, valued at RM772.9mil, changed hands.

Among the KLCI-component stocks, there were 15 decliners while 8 counters rose.

Dealers said the escalating U.S.-China trade war has clipped risk sentiment amid yuan depreciation. 

The United State and Europe have agreed to work towards lowering trade barriers, but talks between Washington and Beijing are on the edge with President Donald Trump accusing China of targeting American farmers through tariffs on soybeans, dairy, meat and produce exports.

Technically, Kenanga Research said the index outlook was positive-bias as evidenced by bullish stance on MACD and RSI indicators. 

“From here, we expect a continuation towards next resistance at 1,790 (R1) and 1,830 (R2) further up. Meanwhile, support levels can be identified at 1,720 (S1) and 1,700 (S2),” it said. 

At Bursa Malaysia, Riverview Rubber Estates was the top loser, shedding 24 sen to RM3.66. Top Glove fell 16 sen to RM10.10 while Fraser & Neave and PPB Group declined 14 sen each to RM37.50 and RM16.48 respectively.

British American Tobacco rose 68 sen to RM34.18, Panasonic Manufacturing gained 36 sen to RM38.36 while Vitrox closed 23 sen higher at RM6.55.

Meanwhile, ringgit was unchanged at 4.0635 against the US dollar.

Adding to the downbeat note, Asian markets also slumped on Friday, tracking mixed end in the U.S. and European stocks. 

Reuters reported that most Southeast Asian stock markets declined on Friday as simmering U.S.-China trade tensions kept investor risk appetite low, while Indonesia extended gains on robust corporate earnings.

Japanese shares bounced modestly with the benchmark Nikkei share average rose 0.22% to 22,635.59. South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.45 points at 2,288.48.

China’s CSI300 index fell 0.1% to 3,533.06 while Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1% to 2,880.51 points.