At 5pm, the barometer index fell 16.03 points to 1,456.74 from Thursday’s close of 1,472.77.

The benchmark index opened 11.84 points lower at 1,460.93 and fell further to a 24-month low of 1,445.64, with the lowest level last seen on May 29, 2020 (1,448.84).

The index moved between 1,445.64 and 1,461.03 throughout the day.

On the broader market, decliners trumped gainers 726 to 267, while 344 counters were unchanged, 942 untraded and 21 others suspended.

Total turnover improved to 3.06 billion units worth RM3.02 billion from 2.48 billion units worth RM1.84 billion on Thursday.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said regional indices trended on mixed sentiment following the negative cues overnight from global markets.

“This is mainly due to rising concerns of a possible recession in the foreseeable future due to aggressive policy tightening by central banks around the world,” he added.

On the domestic front, he said the FBM KLCI’s performance has been volatile due to various external factors such as the United States Federal Reserve interest rate hike, increasing market risks and volatility in global markets.

Bursa heavyweights Maybank rose 16 sen to RM8.88, while Public Bank and IHH Healthcare fell six sen to RM4.49 and RM6.28, respectively, Petronas Chemicals slid 11 sen to RM9.52 and CIMB lost 10 sen to RM4.92.

Of the actives, Sapura Energy decreased half-a-sen to 4.5 sen, Hibiscus Petroleum shed nine sen to RM1.08, Dagang NeXchange lost three sen to 81 sen, while Top Glove rose 3.5 sen to RM1.01.