Bursa Malaysia continued its downward trend from last week, closing lower on Monday, in line with the generally negative performance observed across the region, particularly driven by declines in financial stocks.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) dropped 11.18 points, equivalent to 0.67 per cent, finishing at 1,648.91 compared to Friday's close of 1,660.09. The benchmark index had opened higher at 1,661.89 but fluctuated throughout the day, reaching a low of 1,647.28.

CIMB Group was a significant contributor to the decline, with shares falling by 19 sen to RM8.05, resulting in a loss of 3.45 points for the benchmark index.

In the broader market, decliners outnumbered gainers, with 652 stocks declining against 488 that advanced. Meanwhile, 492 counters remained unchanged, 850 were untraded, and 79 were suspended.

Turnover for the day increased to 4.06 billion units valued at RM3.22 billion, up from Friday's 3.02 billion units worth RM2.68 billion.