KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended at its intraday low on Thursday as investor sentiment remained cautious amid ongoing foreign outflows, although the recent weakness may present bargain-hunting opportunities in fundamentally sound blue-chip counters. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 9.33 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 1,708.36, from yesterday’s close of 1,717.69. The benchmark index, which opened 3.74 points higher at 1,721.43, hit an intraday high of 1,722.50 in early trade before losing momentum for the rest of the day. Market breadth was negative, with losers outpacing gainers 656 to 508, while 565 counters were unchanged, 989 untraded and 32 suspended. Turnover fell to 3.49 billion units worth RM3.70 billion compared with 4.15 billion units worth RM4.29 billion on Wednesday.
Global markets turned risk-off on Thursday as a sharp escalation in the US-Israel-Iran conflict sent oil prices soaring and heightened fears of stagflation , while central banks adopted a more hawkish tone . Energy Shock Triggers Market Selloff Oil prices surged after Iran accused Israel of targeting its South Pars gas field , followed by retaliatory threats against energy infrastructure across the Gulf. Brent crude jumped above US$111 per barrel US crude rose over 3% to US$99.39 Natural gas surged more than 5% The escalation has raised concerns that the conflict is now directly impacting the global energy supply chain , rather than remaining a contained geopolitical event. Equity Markets Decline Across Asia Equity markets fell sharply across the region: Japan’s Nikkei dropped 2.5% South Korea equities fell 2.5% MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan declined over 1% European futures slid more than 1.5% Investors are increasingly concerned about ...