KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 30): Bumi Armada Bhd's share price fell as much as three sen or 16% to 16 sen so far today amid broader market losses and after analysts said crude oil markets remained bearish.

At 12:30pm, oil and gas (O&G) support services provider Bumi Armada shares settled at 16.5 sen with some 154 million units traded. Bumi Armada was Bursa Malaysia's most active stock.

In the broader market, the FBM KLCI fell 1.35 points or 0.08% to settle at 1,694.99 while Bursa Malaysia's Energy Index dropped 21.76 points or 2.38% to 892.04.

Besides Bumi Armada, O&G support services providers Velesto Energy Bhd and Sapura Energy Bhd also fell among Bursa Malaysia's most-active stocks. Velesto settled three sen lower at 20 sen while Sapura Energy fell one sen to 33 sen.

Reuters quoted Lukman Otunuga, an analyst at futures brokerage FXTM, as saying that as concerns on excessive supply and worries about falling demand become the primary themes weighing on oil markets, "the outlook for Brent Crude and WTI (West Texas Intermediate) remains bearish".

It was reported that crude oil has lost almost a third in value since early October because of an emerging supply glut following a global surge in production, including from the US, Russia and by the Middle East-dominated Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). It was reported that to rein in the glut, OPEC and its main partner Russia are moving closer to an agreement around further production cuts.

Oil prices firmed on Friday on expectations that OPEC and Russia will agree to some form of production cuts next week, although swelling US supplies kept markets in check. It was reported that international Brent crude oil futures were at US$59.81 (RM250.30) per barrel at 0347 GMT, up 30 US cents or 0.5% from their last close. US WTI crude futures were up 20 US cents, or 0.4%, at US$51.65 per barrel.