KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 10): The FBM KLCI erased losses at midday as investors bargain hunted beaten-down oil and gas shares.
At 12:30pm, the KLCI gained 3.84 points or 0.21% to settle at 1,815.42. The index had earlier fallen to an intraday low of 1808.69.
“We see today that there is some rebound in the counters which were recently beaten down by falling global oil price and the ringgit’s weakening. Investors are following through with the oil and gas theme now that they are seeing some recovery in oil prices,” a remisier told theedgemarkets.com.
However, crude oil had pared gains today following substantial gains in recent days.
Reuters reported that Benchmark Brent crude oil prices remained below $58 a barrel on Tuesday as the International Energy Agency (IEA) said the United States will remain the world's top source of oil supply growth until to 2020, defying expectations of a more dramatic slowdown in shale output growth.
Brent crude slipped 71 cents, or 1.22 percent, to $57.63 by 0234 GMT, ending a three-day rally. The benchmark gained more than 9 percent last week, its biggest weekly rise since February 2011.
The ringgit also weakened as crude oil prices fell as the commodity forms an important component of the Malaysian economy.
At 12:39pm, the ringgit weakened to 3.5805 against the US dollar while to the Singapore dollar, the ringgit changed hands at 2.6472.
Bursa Malaysia top gainers included British American Tobacco (M) Bhd and Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd. Top decliners included Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd and VSolar Group Bhd.
The most-actively traded stock was Perisai Petroleum Teknologi Bhd.
Malaysian market dynamics were being played out today amid opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's guilty conviction being upheld by the country's top court.
Across Asian stock markets, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.77% while South Korea's Kospi fell 0.38% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.02%.
Reuters reported that Asian equities slipped today as Greece’s potential exit from the Euro and the conflict in Ukraine sapped risk appetite. The dollar has also lost steam after its payrolls-inspired rally.