BURSA MALAYSIA SLIPS BELOW 1,700 LEVEL AT MIDDAY AS OIL PRICE SURGE WEIGHS ON SENTIMENT

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia remained lower at midday, falling below the 1,700 psychological level, in line with the weaker performance of most regional peers amid dented sentiment following a surge in crude oil prices, with Brent crude hovering above US$100 per barrel at noon.

At 12.30 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 11.60 points or 0.67 per cent to 1,699.41 from yesterday’s close of 1,711.01.

The benchmark index opened 9.07 points lower at 1,701.94 and moved between 1,697.83 and 1,709.05 during the morning session.

Market breadth was negative, with 519 losers outnumbering 354 gainers. A total of 499 counters were unchanged, 1,317 untraded, and 18 suspended.

Turnover stood at 1.59 billion units valued at RM1.38 billion.

Regionally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.48 per cent to 25,593.25, Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 1.38 per cent to 53,700.91, and South Korea’s KOSPI retreated 1.98 per cent to 5,475.17, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index inched up 0.07 per cent to 4,858.83.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei announced that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed in his first statement since succeeding his slain father, Ali Khamenei, with the message broadcast on state television.

With this development, oil prices rose, with Brent crude increasing 0.24 per cent at US$100.70 per barrel at the time of writing.

Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd said the “closure” of the Strait of Hormuz could benefit MISC as the group could command higher spot rates and pass on war-risk premiums to charterers.

“Meanwhile, with the elevated oil prices, buying interest has emerged in Plantation and selected Petrochemical counters,” it said in a note, today.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said the government's fuel subsidies has increased to RM2 billion for RON95 and RM1.2 billion for diesel from RM700 million before the conflict in West Asia, totalling RM3.2 billion monthly.

He said the government will ensure citizens continue to receive assistance through targeted RON95 subsidies under the BUDI95 initiative, while keeping petrol and diesel prices unchanged despite the rise in fuel subsidy spending.

“This burden can still be borne by the government because we have undertaken many reforms and fiscal consolidation over the three years the MADANI government has been in office, and we have the fiscal space to absorb it,” he said at a press conference after today's Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Among heavyweights, Maybank slid eight sen to RM11.36, Public Bank slid three sen to RM4.78, TNB dropped 20 sen to RM14.20, IHH Healthcare fell 29 sen to RM8.81, while CIMB added one sen to RM8.0.

On the most active list, Jiankun International slumped two sen to 4.5 sen, V.S. Industry and Zetrix AI fell 1.5 sen to 29 sen and 77 sen respectively, Pharmaniaga trimmed half-a-sen to 24.5 sen, while GDB Holdings improved half-a-sen to 37.5 sen.

Top gainers included Pineapple Resources, which surged 13 sen to 73 sen, Gas Malaysia, Petronas Chemicals and Kossan Rubber rose 11 sen each to RM5.15, RM4.71 and RM1.15, respectively, and Petronas Gas increased 20 sen to RM17.60.

As for the top losers, Malayan Cement slumped 52 sen to RM6.96, Nestle dipped RM1.40, to RM102.70, Batu Kawan sank 38 sen to RM19.50, Kuala Lumpur Kepong shed 36 sen to RM19.42, and Petronas Dagangan slipped 34 sen to RM21.60.

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index fell 73.06 points to 12,273.00, the FBM Emas Index declined 69.48 points to 12,432.32, the FBM 70 Index dropped 53.51 points to 17,153.01, the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 69.48 points to 12,432.32, and the FBM ACE Index eased 11.77 points to 4,390.00.

By sector, the Financial Services Index tumbled 207.70 points to 20,439.40, the Plantation Index decreased 69.56 points to 8,434.67, the Industrial Products and Services Index shaved off 0.07 of-a-point to 176.11, while the Energy Index climbed 4.98 points to 800.72.

-- BERNAMA