KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): The FBM KLCI rose 1.86 points or 0.1% as investors bargain-hunted for index-linked Petronas Gas Bhd and Genting Bhd shares. 
  
At 5pm, the KLCI closed at 1,777.43 points. Petronas Gas shares rose 20 sen to RM18.90, while Genting added 18 sen to RM9.76. 

Petronas Gas and Genting were Bursa Malaysia's seventh and ninth-largest gainers, respectively. “There was mild bargain hunting, mainly led by gains in Genting-related stocks,” said Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd analyst Kenneth Leong.

According to Leong, the market may see less activity from local investors ahead of the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays, starting this Sunday. Malaysian markets will be closed coming Monday and Tuesday (June 26 & 27) for Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

Leong said today that an important factor to note is the falling of crude oil prices, as investors bargain-hunted for selected KLCI-linked stocks.

Reuters reported oil slid back towards multi-month lows on Thursday, after a brief recovery early in the session, as traders warily eyed a glut of physical supply that has persisted, despite OPEC-led efforts to balance the market.

Brent crude futures were down 15 cents at US$44.67 a barrel at 0850 GMT, after spending much of the Asian trading day in positive territory. They fell 2.6% in the previous session to their lowest since November.

The impact of losses in crude oil was apparent on Malaysian shares today. Bursa Malaysia's top three decliners were Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd and Hengyuan Refining Co Bhd, while the most actively-traded stock was Borneo Oil Bhd. 

Across Bursa Malaysia, a total of 1.64 billion shares valued at RM1.8 billion were exchanged. Gainers outpaced decliners at 446 to 347 respectively.