KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia rebounded on Tuesday after sharp losses in the previous session due to anxieties over armed conflict in the Middle East.
The FBM KLCI bounced off the 1,700 psychological support and rose 4.02 points to 1,704.23, with banks leading the recovery.
Asian markets were somewhat calmed by the resilient performance on Wall Street overnight, with the Dow Jones slipping only 0.15% despite earlier concerns of a market crash.
The S&P500 and Nasdaq ended flat and mildly positive respectively, indicating continued investor confidence in US markets.
Nevertheless, Apex Research cautioned investors over fragile global sentiment amid escalating tensions involvig Iran, raising concerns over potential disruptions to Middle East crude supply, particularly around the Straits of Hormuz.
It said in its report Opec+ has signalled a modest output increase, but it may not fully offset supply risks if tensions intensify.
"Oil price volatility has increased, with upside risks potentially reviving inflation concerns and delaying rate cuts."
Brent crude rose another 1.4% to US$78.81 per barrel after jumping over 7% in the previous session. WTI crude was up 0.87% to US$71.85 a barrel at the time of writing.
There is still a ways for crude prices to climb as analysts say the commodity could trade between US$90 and US$100 a barrel following the shuttering of Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura facility after a retaliatory drone strike by Tehran.
For Malaysia, firmer crude prices may support energy counters, but a stronger US dollar could pressure the ringgit and dampen broader risk appetite.
As such, Apex expects the FBM KLCI to trade range-bound in the near term amid heightened geopolitical and currency volatility.
On the benchmark index, Maybank bounced 12 sen higher to RM11.84, with other major banks also retracing higher.
CIMB gained eight sen to RM8.02, Public Bank rallied three sen to RM4.88, AmBank gained nine sen to RM6.50 and RHB climbed 12 sen to RM8.58.
