KUALA LUMPUR: After another negative close in the previous session, Bursa Malaysia is attempting a rebound ahead of the release of corporate results.
This is despite the dampening effect of ongoing hostilities in the Middle East, and the absence of policy breakthoughs during US President Donald Trump's visit to China.
"We expect market sentiment to remain cautious in the near term amid escalating geopolitical tensions, elevated oil prices and weakening global growth expectations.
"Sentiment was further pressured after the European Union lowered its growth outlook, while uncertainty surrounding U.S.–Iran negotiations and the Strait of Hormuz continued supporting Brent crude above USD112/bbl, raising concerns over sticky inflation and a prolonged higher-for-longer rate environment," said Apex Securities in its market review.
As trading commenced on Tuesday, the FBM KLCI was up 5.17 points to 1,732.88.
Leading gainers included 99 Speed Mart, which jumped 18 sen to RM3.46 following its earnings announcement, while Tenaga Nasional gained 18 sen to RM14.62.
YTL Power rose five sen to RM4.10 and PETRONAS Dagangan climbed eight sen to RM19.62.
Among actives, Oppstar rose 3.5 sen to 96.5 sen, GIIB was flat at 30.5 sen and Advance Synergy
was unchanged at 8.5 sen.
In its outlook, Apex said it continues to favour defensive and commodity-linked sectors such as energy and utilities amid elevated oil prices and rising geopolitical tensions.
"Utilities should continue benefiting from resilient earnings visibility driven by ongoing data centre expansion and stable domestic demand," it said.
