KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session almost flat today as investors remained in cautious mode following mixed views on the global equities market, a dealer said.

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 0.53 of-a-point to 1,419.53 from yesterday's close of 1,420.06.

The benchmark index opened unchanged at 1,420.06 ― highest for the day so far ― and slid to a low of 1,415.46 during the session.

On the broader market, losers beat gainers 369 to 335, while 345 counters were unchanged, 1,227 untraded, and 20 others suspended. Turnover stood at 1.22 billion units worth RM490.56 million.

ActivTrades trader Anderson Alves said Asian equities mostly ticked higher on Friday, supported by signs that the Federal Reserve is sticking to its rate hike trajectory.

Meanwhile, he noted that major US earnings data due later today are expected to bring some volatility to the global markets.

Back home, Bursa heavyweights Maybank eased two sen to RM8.60, Public Bank was one sen lower at RM4.39, Petronas Chemicals gained six sen to RM8.09, IHH Healthcare remained flat at RM6.44, and CIMB fell five sen to RM5.05.

Of the actives, Sapura Energy and Dagang NeXchange stayed flat at four sen and 73 sen respectively, Jetson rose one sen to 23 sen and Reach Energy was down half-a-sen to three sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index was 0.80 of-a-point lower to 10,061.10, the FBM Emas Shariah Index added 8.78 points to 10,101.04, the FBM 70 was 17.91 points higher at 12,039.94, the FBMT 100 Index rose 0.59 of-a-point to 9,830.06 and the FBM ACE edged up 9.16 points to 4,561.98.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index declined 56.42 points to 16,003.78, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 0.61 of-a-point lower at 167.42, and the Plantation Index shed 7.29 points to 6,661.92. ― Bernama