KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 12): Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower as cautious sentiment ahead of US economic data this week weighed on sentiment, an analyst said.

At the lunch break, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 3.01 points to 1,474.18 from Friday's closing of 1,477.19.  

The barometer index opened 1.58 points lower at 1,475.61 and dropped to as low as 1,468.85 during the session.

On the broader market, decliners thumped gainers 455 versus 314, while 359 counters were unchanged, 1,135 untraded and 12 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.36 billion units worth RM607.65 million.

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said investors are stepping aside while awaiting the consumer price index data on Tuesday and the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) decision on monetary policy the following day. "The numbers will undoubtedly set the tone for financial markets’ performance as we head into next year."

Among the heavyweight stocks, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) lost two sen to RM8.67, Public Bank Bhd gained five sen to RM4.46, and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd gave up six sen to RM8.47. CIMB Group Holdings Bhd added six sen to RM5.71, and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) dropped nine sen to RM9.24.

Of the actives, PT Resources Holdings Bhd gained 2.5 sen to 52 sen, while Borneo Oil Bhd was flat at 2.5 sen, SMTrack Bhd was unchanged at 5.5 sen. Scope Industries Bhd earned one sen to 20 sen, and Cengild Medical Bhd added two sen to 49.5 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index declined 19.69 points to 10,587.72, the FBMT 100 Index was reduced by 21.1 points to 10,287.75, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index weakened by 62.77 points to 10,725.4. The FBM 70 slid by 26.64 points to 12,919.58, and the FBM ACE trimmed 16.12 points to 5,501.38.  

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index was 60.07 points higher at 16,555.11, the Plantation Index went up 3.11 points to 6,730.99, and the Energy Index perked up 2.6 points to 780.5. The Industrial Products and Services Index went down 0.31 of-a-point to 181.28.