KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — Bursa Malaysia extended its upward trend to close higher today, supported by improved market sentiment following reports of a potential release of strategic oil reserves aimed at easing the recent surge in global energy prices, said an analyst.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 7.10 points to 1,708.78 from yesterday’s close of 1,701.68.

The benchmark index opened 1.58 points lower at 1,700.10, and fluctuated between 1,699.02 and 1,709.93 throughout the day.

Market breadth was positive, with gainers outpacing losers 604 to 446. A total of 525 counters were unchanged, 1,091 untraded and 10 suspended.

Turnover declined to 2.70 billion units worth RM2.78 billion from Tuesday’s 3.60 billion units worth RM3.75 billion.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the International Energy Agency (IEA) is reportedly proposing the largest-ever release of oil stockpiles, which could help cap oil price volatility in the near term, although it would only provide a temporary solution to the current supply disruption.

“The prospect of coordinated action from the IEA, the United States and the G-7 helped restore some near-term confidence in financial markets following the recent bout of volatility triggered by escalating tensions in West Asia.

“As such, market sentiment remains sensitive to geopolitical developments. This remains a headline-to-headline trading environment with all focus on assessing the length of the Iran conflict,” he told Bernama.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI finished marginally higher as bargain hunting continued following Monday’s sharp sell-off.

“Investor sentiment was further supported by declining crude oil prices, which helped ease concerns over a potential spike in global inflation.

“The near-term outlook for the FBM KLCI has improved, with the market moving into a steadier recovery phase as the geopolitical “war premium” is likely to unwind,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mohd Sedek said that domestically, supportive macroeconomic data also helped stabilise sentiment, as Malaysia’s labour force statistics released this afternoon showed the unemployment rate remained steady at 2.9 per cent, signalling continued resilience in the domestic labour market.

This followed yesterday’s encouraging manufacturing data, reinforcing the view that Malaysia’s economic fundamentals remain intact despite external uncertainties.

“The positive macroeconomic backdrop was reflected in sectoral performance, with the financial sector leading today’s gains. As a key proxy for economic growth and capital market activity, banking stocks attracted buying interest, supporting the broader market recovery and helping the FBM KLCI to close higher for the session,” Mohd Sedek said.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank climbed 14 sen to RM11.80, CIMB gained 15 sen to RM8.0, Tenaga Nasional perked up 10 sen to RM14.24, while  Public Bank was flat at RM4.75, and IHH Healthcare eased two sen to RM8.99.

On the most active list, Tanco Holdings rose one sen to RM1.54 and Pharmaniaga edged up half-a-sen to 24.5 sen, while AirAsia X fell nine sen to RM1.20, Zetrix AI ticked down 4.5 sen to 74 sen, and Capital A eased 2.5 sen to 42.5 sen.

Among the top gainers, Petronas Dagangan advanced 40 sen to RM21.90, Chin Teck Plantations gained 26 sen to RM10.80, Allianz Malaysia garnered 24 sen to RM21.54, United Plantations increased 38 sen to RM31.64, and KESM Industries surged 23 sen to RM3.02.

As for the top losers, Nestle slipped RM1.10 to RM102.90, Malaysian Pacific Industries slid 56 sen to RM29.98, Pentamaster Corp declined 12 sen to RM3.08, QL Resources lost 13 sen to RM3.89, and Petronas Gas decreased 10 sen to RM17.50.

On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index advanced 55.72 points to 12,326.31, the FBM Emas Index increased 56.34 points to 12,484.14, the FBM 70 Index jumped 97.74 points to 17,162.44, the FBM Emas Shariah Index garnered 61.89 points to 12,163.54, and the FBM ACE Index climbed 45.46 points to 4,404.68.

By sector, the Financial Services Index gained 96.27 points to 20,773.32,  the Energy Index perked up 14.89 points to 796.44, the Plantation Index added 15.33 points to 8,382.82, and the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.36 points to 173.44.

The Main Market volume declined to 1.71 billion units valued at RM2.59 billion from 2.18 billion units valued at RM3.49 billion on Tuesday.

Warrants turnover tumbled to 755.37 million units worth RM91.67 million from 1.09 billion units worth RM126.20 million yesterday.

The ACE Market volume shrank to 235.57 million units valued at RM99.58 million from 326.97 million units valued at RM125.58 million previously.

Consumer products and services counters accounted for 292.15 million shares traded on the Main Market, industrial products and services (278.31 million), construction (156.56 million), technology (222.22 million), financial services (72.44 million), property (204.98 million), plantation (26.23 million), real estate investment trusts (32.69 million), closed-end fund (nil), energy (257.47 million), healthcare (77.53 million), telecommunications and media (30.63 million), transportation and logistics (28.73 million), utilities (38.11 million), and business trusts (243,800). — Bernama