Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research, Thong Pak Leng, said the lack of clarity kept crude oil prices volatile, with Brent crude remaining elevated at US$109 per barrel.
“Asian markets retreated after US president Donald Trump signalled that US military operations may intensify in Iran over the next two to three weeks, reducing hopes of a de-escalation in tensions.
“As a result, Brent crude jumped towards US$110 per barrel, triggering widespread selling across Asia,” he noted.
Locally, the market is ripe for accumulation at this level, but traders preferred to remain sidelined until more clarity emerges.
“For today, we anticipate the index to trade within the 1,690–1,705 range,” he added.
The US market will be closed today for Good Friday.
At 9.15am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 4.98 points, or 0.29%, to 1,703.28, up from Thursday’s close of 1,698.30.
The index had opened 5.82 points firmer at 1,704.53.
Market breadth was positive, with 247 gainers outpacing 129 losers. A total of 290 counters were unchanged, 1,981 untraded, and 10 suspended.
Turnover stood at 219.64 million shares valued at RM136.18 million.
Among heavyweights, Maybank gained 40 sen to RM11.50, Public Bank was flat at RM4.71, CIMB rose 2 sen to RM7.61, Tenaga Nasional slipped 4 sen to RM13.96, and IHH Healthcare eased 1 sen to RM8.95.
On the most active list, TWL was flat at 2.5 sen, Top Glove fell 0.5 sen to 75.5 sen, Sunway Healthcare edged up 1 sen to RM2.01, Bintai Kinden added 0.5 sen to 10 sen, and PESTEC International eased 0.5 sen to 6.5 sen.
Among top gainers, Nestle jumped RM1.94 to RM100.80, United Plantation rose 32 sen to RM34.32, Petronas Gas advanced 26 sen to RM18.30, Petronas Dagangan gained 22 sen to RM21.32, and Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 18 sen to RM22.06.
Top losers included Ta Ann, down 11 sen to RM5.45, Sarawak Oil Palms, off 10 sen to RM4.67, Westports and Hap Seng Plantations, each down 7 sen to RM5.37 and RM2.27, respectively, and Manulife, which eased 6 sen to RM2.21.
On the index board, the FBM Top 100 Index rose 35.02 points to 12,292.03, the FBM Emas Index gained 36.84 points to 12,425.46, the FBM 70 Index added 44.79 points to 17,131.68, the FBM Emas Shariah Index increased 35.58 points to 12,232.50, and the FBM ACE Index inched up 18.93 points to 4,289.07.
By sector, the financial services index gained 46.41 points to 20,184.66, the industrial products and services index rose 0.71 of-a-point to 184.11, the energy index added 9.27 points to 815.90, and the plantation index increased 27.89 points to 9,118.24.