KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — Bursa Malaysia was mixed at midday as losses in the energy, financial and plantation sectors pulled the benchmark index lower.

At 12.30pm, the benchmark FBM KLCI fell 4.99 points to 1,618.97 versus Tuesday’s close of 1,623.96.

The index opened 1.65 points higher at 1,625.61 and fluctuated between 1,616.19 and 1,625.67 throughout the morning session.

On the broader market, gainers led losers 536 to 470, while 417 counters were unchanged, 814 untraded and nine others suspended.

Total volume stood at 8.07 billion shares worth RM2.42 billion.

An analyst said some investors are taking a cautious stance ahead of the conclusion of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting scheduled today amid the weaker oil market.

“They are awaiting guidance on interest rate. In addition, investors are closely monitoring the policies of other central banks which are having meetings this week,” he said.

At press time, the Brent and West Texas Intermediate were lower at US$68.23 and US$64.74 per barrel.

Of the heavyweights, the top losers included Public Bank which declined eight sen to RM4.23, Maybank and CIMB which lost three sen to RM8.42 and RM4.49 respectively.

PetChem erased five sen to RM8.20 and Sime Darby was seven sen lower at RM2.41.

In contrast, TM gained 23 sen to RM6.39 and Genting rose 14 sen to RM5.26.

Among the actives, Pegasus was flat at three sen, while Borneo Oil increased one sen to 4.5 sen.

Scomi and Lambo was half-a-sen firmer at 11.5 sen and three sen respectively, while Barakah was four sen better at 11.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index slid 20.38 points to 11,881.29, the FBMT 100 was 26.38 points weaker at 11,557.87, and the FBM Emas Shariah eased 4.94 points to 13,175.03.

The FBM 70 reduced gains to end the morning session 0.1 of-a-point at 15,660.65 and the FBM ACE slipped 63.34 points to 10,683.71.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index eased 88.50 points to 15,514.47, the Plantation Index inched down 22.68 points to 7,207.59, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged down 0.10 of-a-point to 191.89. — Bernama