At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.79 points to 1,478.13 compared with 1,480.92 at yesterday’s close. — Bernama pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower, tracking a weaker overnight performance on Wall Street as the market turned risk-averse as it focused on this week’s major central bank meetings amid lingering worries over the spread of the Omicron variant, dealers said.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 2.79 points to 1,478.13 compared with 1,480.92 at Tuesday’s close.

The index, which opened 0.93 of-a-point better at 1,481.85, moved between 1,476.47 and 1,484.63 throughout the morning session.

On the broader market, losers thumped gainers 405 to 291, while 419 counters were unchanged, 1,202 untraded and 20 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.30 billion units valued at RM724.25 million.

A dealer said the local bourse opened higher on bargain hunting after experiencing a heavy sell-off yesterday, but turned easier from mid-morning until the end of the morning session.

"Selling in heavyweights, led by telecommunication stocks, weighed on the barometer index,” he noted.

Asian markets were mixed today amid cautious sentiment as investors considered the impact of the Omicron variant on global economic recovery while awaiting the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) announcement on interest rates for market direction. The US central bank is holding its meeting on December 14-15.

"The Fed is highly anticipated by investors to accelerate its timetable for reducing bond purchases and start raising interest rates, especially with inflation remaining at an elevated rate,” he said.

Regionally, Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.05 per cent to 28,446.59 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index increased 0.21 per cent to 23,684.94, while South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.27 per cent to 2,979.80 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.36 per cent to 3,109.98.

Among the heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals eased one sen to RM8.60 and Tenaga added two sen to RM9.25, while Maybank, Public Bank and IHH Healthcare were flat at RM8.09, RM4.00 and RM6.50, respectively.

Of the actives, ATA IMS gained six sen to 61 sen, Pelikan added one sen to 55.5 sen, and Pasukhas slid half-a-sen to three sen, while BCM Alliance and Pemaju Industries were flat at 2.5 sen and four sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 2.88 points easier at 10,790.31, the FBMT 100 Index trimmed 2.12 points to 10,484.73, the FBM Emas Shariah Index reduced 4.81 points to 11,611.22, and the FBM ACE declined 27.49 points to 6,158.01.

In contrast, the FBM 70 rose 67.45 points to 13,941.65.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.35 of-a-point to 193.68 and the Financial Services Index gained 7.92 points to 15,086.54, but the Plantation Index lost 33.82 points to 6,396.68. ― Bernama