The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index plunged as much as 3.7%, with losses snowballing after the midday break.

The gauge headed for its biggest single-day slump since October 2008 as of 4.09pm local time, with declines surpassing those of all other national benchmarks in the region.

Malaysian markets were shut on Tuesday for a holiday.

Builders suffered the brunt of the selling as Gamuda Bhd sank as much as 27% after Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the government would cancel a proposed multibillion-dollar, high-speed railway link to Singapore and the third phase of a mass rapid transit line in Kuala Lumpur.

Banks also suffered, with Malayan Banking Bhd down 4.5% amid a sector sell-off.

The Malaysian index, which only last month traded at a record, is now down more than 9% from its peak as traders adjust to a new political environment.

Foreign investors have fled the nation’s stocks, pulling money every single day this month — a streak unseen since the sell-off of August 2015.