KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia recouped earlier losses to close slightly higher on Thursday as investors stayed cautious amid volatile oil prices and a broader risk-off sentiment.
At 5 pm, the FBM KLCI rose 2.23 points, or 0.13%, to close at its intraday high of 1,711.01 after earlier slipping to a low of 1,694.80.
In the broader market, gainers and decliners were nearly balanced, with 529 gainers against 538 decliners, while 525 counters remained unchanged. Turnover came to three billion shares valued at RM3.53bil.
Dealers said the market remained cautious as investors monitored sharp swings in oil prices and geopolitical developments in the Middle East.
They added that the risk-off sentiment across regional markets also limited buying interest, keeping gains on Bursa Malaysia modest.
Among the gainers, United Plantations surged RM1.46 to RM33.10, Nestle jumped RM1.20 to RM104.10, PETRONAS Chemicals gained 46 sen to RM4.60 and PPB Group rose 44 sen to RM11.44.
F&N gave up 26 sen to RM31.70, Pineapple Resources fell 22 sen to 60 sen, Malaysian Pacific Industries
declined 18 sen to RM29.80 and Pentamaster lost 18 sen to RM2.90.
ACE Market debutant OGX Group declined 0.5 sen, or 1.46%, to 34.5 sen with 98.31 million shares traded.
According to data on Bursa Malaysia, foreign investors and local institutions were net sellers of RM3mil and RM25mil worth of equities on Wednesday. Local retailers, meanwhile, acquired equities worth RM28mil.
On the external front, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was lower by 1.24%.
Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.04%, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.48%, China’s CSI300 index was down 0.36% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed down 0.7%.
Reuters reported that oil prices rose on Thursday after Iran intensified attacks in the Middle East, with prices earlier jumping about 9% to above US$100 a barrel on fears of supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude rose US$3.82, or 4.52%, to US$95.80 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate gained US$3.35, or 3.85%, to US$90.60 per barrel.
Oil prices have seen sharp swings this week, with Brent hitting US$119.50 a barrel on Monday, its highest since mid-2022, before easing after U.S. President Donald Trump said the Iran war could be over soon.
On the forex market, the ringgit eased 0.17% to 3.9268 against the US dollar and was flat at 3.0776 against the Singapore dollar.
The local currency rose 0.23% against the euro to 4.5342 and gained 0.08% against the pound sterling to 5.2530.
