KUALA LUMPUR: The selling pressure is building on Malaysian equities as the investment risk grows amid negative developments in the Middle East.
The FBM KLCI slipped 1.33 points to 1,731.47 at Wednesday's open, dragged lower by IHH Healthcare, down seven sen to RM8.28 and MR DIY, shedding four sen to RM1.48, after it posted a decline in its latest quarterly earnings.
According to Apex Securities, there are no signs of a resolution to the ongoing conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, leading to sharp advances in the price of crude oil and the growing risk of higher interest rates.
Brent crude futures for October delivery have returned to the cusp of U$90 a barrel after having dipped below US$80 just a week earlier.
"With geopolitical tensions showing no clear path to de-escalation, the KLCI is likely to remain under pressure in the near term, with cautious sentiment and range-bound trading expected as investors await greater clarity on the Hormuz situation," said Apex in its market outlook.
The research firm noted the scheduled release of the US consumer price index for January later tonight, and the US producer price index on Thursday, which would shed further light on the state of inflation in the world's largest economy.
Semiconductor-related stocks on Bursa Malaysia were seen falling back. Pentamaster dropped six sen to RM5.54, Vitrox shed five sen to RM9.59 and MPI fell 38 sne to RM47.72.
Of actives, Top Glove rose three sen to 69 sen, NexG gained 0.5 sen to 28.5 sen and Ptrans was flat at 24 sen.
