Malaysia's benchmark stock index dropped in early trade, dragged by losses in the country's second largest lender CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and consumer products-to-property conglomerate PPB Group Bhd.

The index, which was down 0.1 per cent at 1,805.82 points at 9.06am in Kuala Lumpur, underperformed MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan that rose 0.5 per cent, while it outperformed Tokyo's Nikkei share average that fell 1.6 per cent.

Shares of both CIMB and PBB dropped about 0.7 per cent.

"A mixture of cautious mood and profit-taking activity could cap our Malaysian bourse performance for the time being," HwangDBS Vickers Research said in a research note to clients on Friday.

"On the chart, the benchmark FBM KLCI will probably move sideways with a marginal downward bias ahead. Its key support line is presently seen at the psychological mark of 1,800."

HwangDBS said investors would watch Encorp Bhd after the property developer announced it had won a contract for RM114 million to construct a business centre in Selangor, the country's richest state.

Encorp shares were up 2.7 per cent at 96 sen at 9.09am.-- Reuters