Malaysia's key share index snapped a three-day winning streak to finish lower on Tuesday, as investors took profit on heavyweights like phone firm Telekom Malaysia.
The key Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost half a percent to 885.70 points on light volume of 468 million shares, almost one-fifth lower than Monday's level. There were three losing stocks for every one gainer.
The market's weakness followed falls in the region as sentiment was weighed down by fears about the effects of terror attacks on the global economy following the Madrid blasts.
"It hasn't soured expectations completely, but trading is likely to be choppy over the next few days," said a trader at a large brokerage.
The main index had gained nearly two percent in the three days to Monday, helped by local and foreign institutional buying on blue chips ahead of a general election on Sunday. Shares of Telekom, the second-biggest firm by market value, lost almost three percent to 10.00 ringgit, accounting for nearly half of the key index fall.
Top lender Malayan Banking was also down 0.9 percent to 11.50 ringgit. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is expected to cement his grip on power in the coming election, and analysts have predicted a market rally if his multi-ethnic coalition gets a strong win against the country's main Islamist opposition.
Among active stocks, third-biggest lender RHB Capital fell 0.8 percent to 2.38 ringgit after it filed a 20 million ringgit ($5.3 million) legal suit against its founder and former chairman Abdul Rashid Hussain.
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