KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia ended higher on Wednesday as Iran ceasefire optimism lifted risk appetite and raised hopes of de-escalation in the Middle East crisis.
Sentiment was further supported by reports that the US is pushing for a month-long ceasefire with Iran and has sent a 15-point proposal to Tehran, raising hopes of restoring oil exports.
The FBM KLCI rose 7.92 points, or 0.46%, to 1,716.68, after trading between an intraday high of 1,725.93 and a low of 1,711.90.
Advancing counters outnumbered decliners 582 to 507 on Bursa Malaysia, indicating a slight positive bias in market breadth, while total turnover stood at 2.91 billion shares valued at RM3.26bil.
Dealers said the market tracked regional gains, supported by improved risk appetite amid easing concerns over Middle East tensions.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported oil prices fell about 4% after reports the US sent a proposal to Iran to end the conflict, raising hopes of a ceasefire that could ease supply disruptions.
Brent crude fell US$5.15, or 4.93%, to US$99.34 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude declined US$3.81, or 4.13%, to US$88.54 per barrel.
Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index rose 1.62%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 2.87% to 53,749.62, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.59% to 5,642.21.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 1.09% to 25,335.95. China’s CSI 300 rose 1.4% to 4,537.47, while the Shanghai Composite added 1.3% to 3,931.84.
On Bursa Malaysia, Heineken Malaysia
led the gainers, rising 84 sen to RM23.04. Other top gainers included UMS Integration, up 31 sen to RM4.91, Concrete Engineering Products, which gained 27 sen to RM1.99, and Hong Leong Financial Group, which added 26 sen to RM19.56.
Among the losers, Nestle fell 44 sen to RM98, PETRONAS Chemicals shed 34 sen to RM5.46, Allianz-PA declined 26 sen to RM21.24, while United Plantations dropped 22 sen to RM33.60.
In terms of fund flows, foreign investors were net buyers, acquiring RM107mil worth of equities on Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday.
Local institutions and retailers were net sellers, offloading equities worth RM77mil and RM30mil, respectively.
