KUALA LUMPUR: Global equities are on a rally as plunging oil process following a decisive win by the Democrats at the US midterm elections accelerated hopes of an expedient end to the conflict in the Middle East.
Malaysia's stock market rallied alongside its regional peers, with the benchmark FBM KLCI rising 6.72 points to 1,623.28 at the opening.
Crude oil prices dove overnight as a Congress controlled by the Democrats is expected to push for a peaceful resolution with Iran. Brent crude futures for January delivery dropped 8.7% overnight to a two-month low of US$94.62 a barrel.
According to AmBank Research, the Democrats are also expected to limit the scope of further US tax cuts and additional government spending, easing concerns over higher federal borrowings and additional US Treasury supply.
"Tighter regulations for the AI sector may also weigh on US growth and AI development-related inflation, reducing the likelihood of further rate hikes," it added in its market snapshot.
Meanwhile, Malaysian traders are also looking towards the release of Bank Negara's overnight policy rate decision this afternoon.
Most economists are expecting no change to the status quo, although the market will be looking for indications on monetary policy for 2027.
On the blue-chip index, banking shares surged including Maybank rising 14 sen to RM10.04, Hong Leong Bank climbing 26 sen to RM21.50, RHB adding seven sen to RM7.80, Ambank gaining 15 se nto RM6.63 and CIMB putting on 12 sen to RM7.03.
Among the market's most active counters, AirAsia soared seven sen to 52.5 sen as fuel costs are expected to moderate moving forward.
Capital A rose two sen to 25 sen.
Energy shares were routed, falling over 2%. Hengyuan Refining
shed 35 sen to RM3.27, Hibiscus Petroleum lost 11 sen to RM1.95 and Peron Malaysia dropped 11 sen to RM3.14.
