KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI rose nearly 10 points in the early session, as traders turned jubilant over news the US had reached a peace deal with Iran, paving the way for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Asian markets rose in a flurry of buying activity as investors looked forward to the signing of the peace agreement this Friday, while oil prices dove to a three-month low on expectations of normalising supply.
At the time of writing, Brent crude futures for August delivery were down 4.5% to US$83.40 a barrel.
The FBM KLCI was up 9.91 points to 1,693.54 at the midday break, on the back of a rally led by heavyweight banks.
Maybank gained 16 sen to RM10.88, CIMB jumped 22 sen to RM7.61, Hong Leong Bank rose 20 sen to RM21.54, Public Bank climbed six sen to RM4.89 and RHB added five sen to RM8.42.
The broader market was positive with 681 advancing issues compared to 419 decliners. Trading volume jumped to 3.04 billion shares valued at RM1.8bil.
On a sectoral basis, the technology sector leapt 3.4% while financial services rose 1.26%, followed by a 0.96% increase in consumer stocks. The utilities sector gained 0.8% and property added 0.67%.
AirAsia X
was among the most actively traded shares, rising eight sen to RM1.28 as oil prices subsided. Sister company Capital A gained two sen to 42 sen.
In other markets, South Korea's Kospi soared 5.47% to 8,569 to lead the Asian rally. Japan's Nikkei jumped 4.92% to 69,266.
China's Shanghai Composite index was up 0.95% to 4,069 while the CSI 300 rose 1.56% to 4,851. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.57% to 24,859.
