KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI staged a rebound on Tuesday after six straight sessions of losses, defying a weaker regional trend.
The 30-stock index climbed 11.74 points, or 0.69%, to 1,711.95, closing near its session high after trading between 1,704.23 and 1,715.93.
Sentiment across the broader market remained subdued, with losers outpacing gainers 608 to 564, and 516 counters unchanged. A total of 3.32 billion shares worth RM3.7bil were traded.
A dealer said the recovery appeared technical in nature, with investors staying defensive as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continued to cloud the outlook.
He added that overall market sentiment remained tepid amid a lack of fresh domestic catalysts.
Among the gainers, Nestle rose 60 sen to RM107.50, Hong Leong Financial Group gained 30 sen to RM21.42, Hengyuan climbed 28 sen to RM1.35 and PETRONAS Dagangan added 24 sen to RM22.50.
Malaysian Pacific Industries led the losers, declining 58 sen to RM30.42. Other decliners included Allianz-PA, down 28 sen to RM22.20, Panasonic Manufacturing, which fell 19 sen to RM7.08, and Allianz, which lost 18 sen to RM21.74.
In terms of fund flows, foreign investors were net buyers of RM271mil worth of equities on Bursa Malaysia on Monday, while local institutions and retailers were net sellers at RM238mil and RM34mil, respectively.
On the forex market, the ringgit weakened 0.46% against the US dollar to 3.9440 but inched up 0.07% against the Singapore dollar to 3.0862.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that oil prices surged, lifting year-to-date gains to about 30%, including nearly a 10% spike after the attacks, while the dollar index rose to a six-week high.
Brent crude rose US$3.14, or 4.04%, to US$80.88 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at US$74.07 per barrel, up US$2.84, or 3.99%.
On the external front, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was lower by 3.12%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 3.06% to 56,279.05, South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 7.24% to 5,791.91, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 1.12% to 25,768.08.
China’s CSI 300 dropped 1.54% to 4,655.90 and the Shanghai Composite declined 1.43% to 4,122.68.