KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's blue-chip stocks fell 0.8% in morning trade as the weekend talks between the US and Iran failed to yield results, while crude oil prices spiked above US$100 a barrel as the US moved to blockade the Strait of Hormuz.
Equities were once again on the backfoot as traders braced for a resumption of hostilities in the Gulf, which threatened to excacerbate a global energy crisis.
The benchmark FBM KLCI was down 13.35 points to 1,677.96 with financial services weighing on the market amid fears of the negative impact on the global and domestic economy.
Financial services stocks dropped 1.36% as heavyweigh banks led the market lower. Maybank dropped 16 sen to RM11, Hong Leong Bank slid 42 sen to RM21.66, Public Bank shed five sen to RM4.60 and CIMB lost 13 sen ot RM7.39.
The negative sentiment spilled into the broader market, with the scoreboard registering 751 declining issues as compared to 299 advancing. Trading volume was 1.73 billion shares valued at RM1.21bil.
Amid the decline, energy stocks benefited from the rising crude prices while plantations stocks, similarly, were on the up due to an increase in vegetable oil prices. Brent crude futures were trading at US$102.20 a barrel at the time of writing.
PETRONAS Chemicals resumed its rally on the back of rising oil prices, jumping 19 sen to RM6.01.
Hibiscus Petroleum, seen as a proxy for crude prices, rose 11 sen to RM2.20, while Dialog jumped eight sen to RM2.27. SD Guthrie gained six sen to RM6.05, United Plantations added six sen to RM33.06 and Hap Seng Plantations climbed four sen to RM2.35.
In major Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei dropped 1% to 53,360 while South Korea's Kospi declined 1.16% to 5,790.
China's composite index lost 0.17% to 3,979 following by the blue-chip CSI300 sliding 0.12% to 4,630. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng shed 1.18% to 25,587.
Singapore's Straits Times index lost 0.42% to 4,968.
