KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 ― Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session in negative territory ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) highly anticipated interest rate decision, said an analyst.

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 3.94 points to 1,541.02 from yesterday’s close of 1,544.96.

The benchmark index, which opened 0.10 points firmer at 1,545.06, moved between 1,539.19 and 1,546.0 during the morning trading session.

Market breadth was negative with losers beating gainers 443 to 431, while 453 counters were unchanged, 967 untraded and 11 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 2.19 billion units worth RM1.19 billion.

Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research opined that the market is likely to stay choppy ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) policy guidance.

"Persistent foreign outflows, coupled with renewed ringgit weakness, can result in the KLCI staying range bound in the short-term.

"Major supports are pegged at 1,518-1,531-1539, while resistances are situated at 1,560-1,580-1,600 levels,” it said in a note today.

Bursa Malaysia heavyweights Maybank was down seven sen to RM9.58, Public Bank eased three sen to RM4.25 and CIMB fell nine sen to RM6.52.

Meanwhile, Petronas Chemicals added five sen to RM6.86, and Tenaga Nasional was flat at RM11.50.

Among the actives, TWL and MMAG firmed half-a-sen to 3.5 sen and 15.5 sen, respectively, while Mlabs Systems edged down half-a-sen to one sen, and Hong Seng was flat at one sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index fell 6.85 points to 11,511.70, and the FBMT 100 Index was 10.91 points lower to 11,167.36.

Meanwhile, the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 42.32 points to 11,579.58, the FBM ACE Index improved by 8.54 points to 4,759.63, and the FBM 70 Index increased by 57.10 points to 15,807.47.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index was up 33.70 points to 7,312.46, the Energy Index rose 16.49 points to 941.90, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 0.20 of-a-point to 177.55.

However, the Financial Services Index fell 110.41 points to 17,170.97. ― Bernama