KUALA LUMPUR: Bargain hunting lifted Bursa Malaysia on Thursday, with the FBM KLCI rebounding from the previous session’s losses despite lingering geopolitical tensions.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI rose 11.31 points, or 0.66%, to 1,721.70. It traded within a range of 9.10 points between an intraday high of 1,723.51 and a low of 1,714.41. All Bursa Malaysia indices finished higher, except the plantation index.
Gainers led decliners 706 to 485 while 562 counters unchanged. Turnover stood at 3.5 billion shares worth RM3.1bil.
Among the KLCI component stocks, 17 counters closed higher while nine fell.
Top gainers on Bursa Malaysia included Malaysian Pacific Industries
, which rose 70 sen to RM36.34, Dutch Lady, up 48 sen to RM32.86, PETRONAS Chemicals, which gained 33 sen to RM5.55, and Kelington Group, which added 29 sen to RM5.98.
Decliners included Nestle, which slid 74 sen to RM98.00, United Plantations, down 32 sen to RM33.40 and Fraser & Neave, which fell 22 sen to RM30.70.
ACE Market debutant, AMS Advanced Material rose 5.17%, or 1.5 sen, to 30.5 sen, with 105.83 million shares traded, making it Bursa Malaysia’s third most active counter.
According to data on Bursa Malaysia, foreign investors disposed of RM88mil worth of equities on Wednesday.
Local institutions and retailers, on the other hand, acquired RM26mil and RM62mil of local equities, respectively.
SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said something was not quite lining up in the oil market.
He noted that Brent had hovered in the high US$90s through most of the seven-week war, trading as if peace was already priced in—until an overnight jump prompted a reassessment following Goldman Sachs’ latest note.
“Until then, crude moved like the endgame was already written, even as the reality on the ground still pointed to a conflict with no clear exit,” he said.
The second round of US–Iran talks had stalled, while a ceasefire extension by Donald Trump remained open-ended, and a US blockade continued to restrict flows in and out of Iranian ports.
Despite ongoing stress in the system, price action continued to reflect easing pressure, he said, adding that the market had shifted from current conditions to future expectations.
Innes said inventories were being drawn down at an unsustainable pace, even as prices remained relatively subdued, warning that supply shut-ins could trigger a sharp repricing if disruptions persist.
Reuters reported that oil prices extended gains on Thursday, rising over US$1 as stalled US-Iran talks and ongoing Hormuz trade restrictions tightened supply concerns.
Brent crude oil rose US$1.33, or 1.31%, to US$103.24 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate crude rose US$1.34, or 1.44% to US$94.30 per barrel.
Around the region, MSCI’s broadest Asia-Pacific index ex-Japan fell 3.45%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.75% lower at 59,140.23, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.9% to 6,475.81.
Taiwan’s Taiex slipped 0.43% to 37,714.15, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.95% to 25,915.20.
Chinese markets were also weaker, with the CSI300 easing 0.28% to 4,786.33 and the Shanghai Composite declining 0.32% to 4,093.25.
