KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — Bursa Malaysia rebounded to close higher on Wednesday, tracking gains across regional markets as a sharp pullback in oil prices helped boost overall market sentiment, analysts said.

At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 7.92 points or 0.46 per cent to 1,716.68 from Tuesday’s close of 1,708.76.

The market bellwether opened 13.74 points higher at 1,722.50, and moved between 1,711.90 and 1,725.93 throughout the day.

Market breadth was positive with gainers leading losers 559 to 523. A total of 488 counters were unchanged, 1,180 untraded and 24 suspended.

Turnover decreased to 2.90 billion units worth RM3.26 billion from yesterday’s 3.35 billion units worth RM4.03 billion.

IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan noted that Brent crude fell more than five per cent following reports of a possible US-drafted ceasefire proposal involving Iran, a move that helped ease immediate concerns about a supply shock.

He said that when oil prices declined sharply, it tends to quickly translate into lower inflation expectations and reduces pressure on the global policy outlook, giving equities more room to advance.

“From a macro perspective, what we are seeing now is more of a pullback in the geopolitical risk premium rather than a genuine improvement in fundamentals. Oil is still flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, which suggests that disruption risks are being managed, but not eliminated.

“So while the market is holding up for now, it remains very much driven by headlines. Any shift in oil prices or geopolitical developments could quickly change the tone,” he told Bernama.

Echoing a similar view, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said that on the domestic front, the index’s firm hold above the 1,700 psychological support level signals that the broader uptrend remains intact.

“The near-term outlook points to cautious consolidation with a positive bias, with the index likely to fluctuate within the 1,690–1,730 range for the remainder of the week,” he said.

Among heavyweights, Maybank rose 10 sen to RM11.44, Public Bank increased seven sen to RM4.93, CIMB added six sen to RM7.89, Tenaga Nasional gained 14 sen to RM14.42, and IHH Healthcare perked up one sen to RM8.99.

On the most active list, Zetrix AI edged up 1.5 sen to 75 sen, Sunway Healthcare increased 12 sen to RM2.12, AirAsia X garnered seven sen to RM1.24, while Borneo Oil and V.S. Industry were flat at half-a-sen and 28.5 sen respectively. 

Top gainers included UMS Integration, which jumped 31 sen to RM4.91, Concrete Engineering surged 27 sen to RM1.99, Hong Leong Financial gained 26 sen to RM19.56, Press Metal put on 24 sen to RM7.55, and Ajinomoto climbed 14 sen to RM12.38. 

As for top losers, Nestle slid 44 sen to RM98.0, Petronas Chemicals fell 34 sen to RM5.46, United Plantations and Kuala Lumpur Kepong declined 22 sen each to RM33.60 and RM19.60, respectively, and Petron Malaysia slipped 15 sen to RM4.46. — Bernama

 Malay Mail – Money