KUALA LUMPUR: Investors welcomed news of a potential ceasefire in the Middle East, although there was some profit-taking on Bursa Malaysia given recent gains in blue chips, as well as in the oil and gas sector.
Overnight, crude oil prices plunged following the easing of tensions in the Middle East, with Brent losing nearly US$7 or 9% to US$70.04 a barrel. WTI shed US$6.61 or 9% to US$67.23 a barrel.
Domestic oil and gas-related counters, which had been bought up recently, came under strong selling pressure as investors rushed to cash out.
Petron Malaysia
fell 18 sen to RM3.70, Hibiscus Petroleum shed 15 sen to RM1.68 and Hengyuan Refining dropped 14 sen to RM1.78
Following from a trend-defying rally in the previous day, the FBM KLCI slipped 2.36 points to 1,514.25 on Tuesday.
On the Malaysian blue-chip index, PETRONAS Chemicals shed nine sen to RM3.07 while Public Bank fell 14 sen to RM4.28 and QL Resources dipped three sen to RM4.60.
As Asia opened for trade, funds flowed into previously lagging markets as the risk appetite improved. Japan's Nikkei was up 1.11% to 38,781, while in South Korea, the Kospi gained 2.19% to 3,079.
The positive regional sentiment was in line with Wall Street's overnight rally as Iran gave a half-hearted military response to the US bombing of its nuclear sites.
"Wall Street closed broadly higher as traders observed that Iran’s retaliation has been restrained while Trump announces an Israel-Iran ceasefire timeline that will potentially end the war," said Rakuten Trade in its review.
