Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 8): Oil and gas (O&G) counters on Bursa Malaysia posted gains following a rise in oil prices following Iranian strikes against an Iraqi airbase that hosts US forces.

At 9:35am, the only index that was posting gains on Bursa Malaysia was the Energy Index, which rose 0.28% or 3.51 points to 1,273.56 points.

In contrast, the broader FBM KLCI now trades 1% or 16.14 points lower at 1,594.9 points.

The top active stock on the local bourse was Alam Maritim Resources Bhd, which registered an 8.33% or a 1.5 sen rise to 19.5 sen. Other O&G stocks include Sapura Energy Bhd, which rose 3.57% or a sen to 28 sen, and Velesto Energy Bhd, which rose 3.9% or 1.5 sen to 40 sen.

Brent crude is now trading 3.36% or US$2.30 higher at US$70.81 a barrel, as tensions between Iraq and the US flare up.

According to Reuters, the Iranian government said it had launched a missile attack on US-led forces in Iraq yesterday, in retaliation to the US drone strike on Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad last week.

"Tehran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles from Iranian territory against at least two Iraqi military bases hosting US-led coalition personnel at about 1.30am local time," the US military said on Tuesday.

According to a statement on state TV, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps confirmed that they fired the rockets to retaliate for last week's killing of Qassem Soleimani, Reuters reported.

"The statement advised the United States to withdraw its troops from the region to prevent more deaths, state TV said," the newswire reported.

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