KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's stock market started on the backfoot as investor sentiment was weighed down by the price of crude oil, which surged past the US$100 a barrel mark overnight.
Fears the conflict in the Middle East may be spreading sent energy prices skyrocketing even as the AI rally lost steam with investors cashing out of Alphabet and Tesla, amid fears of excessive capex spending.
The FBM KLCI, which had been treading water over recent days, seems destined to close out the week on a 10-day low as traders scurried to the sidelines.
At 9.06am, the benchmark index was down 6.56 points to 1,708.03, with losses across the market sectors.
PETRONAS Chemicals was a beneficiary of the escalating oil prices, rising six sen to RM4.89, while MISC rose two sen to RM8.
Meanwhile, Hong Leong Bank slumped 22 sen to RM22.14, Telekom Malaysia fell nine sen to RM7.56 and Tenaga Nasional shed eight sen to RM14.42.
Apex Securities noted that energy stocks remain at the top of the watchlist with Brent continuing its climb, favouring upstream producers and services names, while the tanker attacks add a freight-rate angle that could benefit shipping-exposed counters.
"Construction retains its momentum with data-centre related awards still flowing.
"Plantation could firm as CPO tracks crude higher, while Technology may stay pressured as the rest of the megacaps release their earnings, while rate-sensitive REIT and property counters may face a tougher backdrop with global yields at year highs," it added in its outlook.
On the actives list, Aimax was up 0.5 sen to 1.5 sen, VS Industry gained one sen to 24 sen and Bumi Armada
rose one sen to 37.5 sen.
