KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened higher on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street's rebound after US President Donald Trump signalled that the conflict with Iran could end soon.
At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 13.81 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 1,687.98 from Monday's close of 1,674.17.
The benchmark index opened 10.68 points higher at 1,684.85.
Market breadth was positive, with gainers outnumbering losers 323 to 121. A total of 172 counters were unchanged, 2,038 untraded and 19 suspended.
Turnover stood at 215.45 million shares worth RM166.01 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd head of research Kenny Yee said Wall Street experienced a volatile session, with all three major indices ending higher after a sharp drop at the opening bell.
"Sentiment turned positive following Trump's statement that the war with Iran will end soon, with Brent crude settling at about US$99 per barrel," he told Bernama.
At the time of writing, Brent crude was down 9.36 per cent to US$89.90 per barrel.
Yee said Asian markets experienced a regional sell-off yesterday as a surge in crude oil prices rattled the investment climate.
"As confidence has been shaken decisively, we reckon bargain hunting on the local bourse may be sidelined for now, possibly until the index nears the 1,650 level," he said.
Nonetheless, he said the plantation sector could benefit from higher crude oil prices, with crude palm oil rising to around RM4,160 per tonne.
"For today, we expect the index to hover within the 1,665–1,680 range," he added.
Among heavyweights, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) added 10 sen to RM11.56, Public Bank Bhd rose eight sen to RM4.82, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and IHH Healthcare Bhd gained 13 sen each to RM7.90 and RM8.78 respectively, while Tenaga Nasional Bhd climbed 20 sen to RM14.04.
On the most active list, AirAsia X Bhd surged 19 sen to RM1.29 and Capital A Bhd advanced 3.5 sen to 44.5 sen, while Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd fell 31 sen to RM2.08, Velesto Energy Bhd slipped 1.5 sen to 32.5 sen and Bumi Armada Bhd edged down two sen to 33 sen.
Meanwhile, top gainers included Nestlé (Malaysia) Bhd, which rose RM1.40 to RM104.00, Petronas Dagangan Bhd gaining RM0.54 to RM21.98, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd adding RM0.48 to RM29.52, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd increasing RM0.30 to RM20.40, and Hong Leong Industries Bhd advancing RM0.28 to RM16.98.
On the other hand, top losers included Hengyuan Refining Bhd, which fell RM0.34 to RM1.56, Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd sliding RM0.33 to RM4.50, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd declining RM0.31 to RM2.08, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd easing RM0.29 to RM3.86, and Dialog Group Bhd slipping RM0.16 to RM1.90.
On the index board, the FBM T100 Index jumped 103.80 points to 12,168.07, the FBM Emas Index climbed 98.99 points to 12,323.48, the FBM 70 Index advanced 163.12 points to 16,905.15, the FBM Emas Shariah Index firmed 54.38 points to 11,983.84, and the FBM ACE Index rose 35.75 points to 4,242.48.
By sector, the Financial Services Index gained 228.41 points to 20,499.75. The Plantation Index fell 16.10 points to 8,423.90, the Industrial Products and Services Index slipped 1.72 points to 170.75, and the Energy Index dropped 31.97 points to 774.77.