KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE (Dec 5): A gauge tracking Malaysian construction stocks is set for its best annual gain in nearly a decade, but a 10-day slide is threatening to spoil the party for investors.

The slump, partly due to disappointing earnings recently at many of the builders, has pushed the Bursa Malaysia Construction Index’s 50-day moving average below its 200-day line, forming a bearish death cross pattern. The last time this happened, in 2017, the gauge fell by more than half over the next 13 months, hitting its lowest level since the global financial crisis.