Bursa's Energy Index breaks from pack on oil price rally
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia's Energy Index rose to the top of sectoral gainers, driven by a global rally in oil prices amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
It was the only index to post a gain of over one per cent, bucking the broader downtrend across sectors that persisted into the afternoon session.
As at 3pm, the 31-stock Energy Index had climbed 1.32 per cent, or 9.73 points, to 745.44. Year-to-date, the index is still down 10.23 per cent.
Reservoir Link Energy Bhd, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd and Dialog Group Bhd were among the most actively traded counters fuelling the sector's gains.
At press time, Reservoir Link rose 1.35 per cent to 37.5 sen. The counter was the third most active with nearly 40 million shares changing hands, its highest single-day volume in at least six months.
Hibiscus Petroleum led the gainers in the oil and gas space, surging 7.02 per cent or 12 sen to RM1.83 on 17.21 million shares traded.
Bumi Armada Bhd edged up half a sen to 47.5 sen, while Dialog Group Bhd added four sen, or 2.60 per cent, to RM1.58 with 6.32 million shares traded.
The rally in energy stocks followed a spike in global crude oil prices after United States military strikes on Iran intensified concerns of supply disruptions in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures for August rose 2.4 per cent to US$79 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed 2.5 per cent to US$73.84. Both benchmarks had earlier jumped as much as four per cent to hit four-month highs, with Brent briefly touching US$81 a barrel.
At the time of writing, Brent and WTI were trading at US$77.51 and US$74.31 respectively, both up about 0.65 per cent on the day and marking their highest levels in a month.
In Tehran, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed retaliation against "the Zionist enemy" in his first public statement since the US joined Israel's attacks on Iran.
Market participants anticipate further price gains as fears grow that Iran may retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for about one-fifth of the world's crude oil supply.
Back home, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.51 per cent, or 7.62 points, to 1,510.36, rebounding from last Friday's close of 1,493.19. Apart from energy, financial services was the only other sectoral index in the green, up 0.43 per cent.
The day's biggest sectoral decliners were the Transportation & Logistics, Technology, and Healthcare sectors, which fell 1.28 per cent, 1.23 per cent and one per cent respectively.
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