KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI bucked the regional trend to end higher amid a cautious broader market.

       The 30-stock index closed up 4.95 points, or 0.31% to 1,583.84 after moving between 1,564.29 and 1,546.19 during the session.

       Market breadth turned negative as losers overpowered the gainers on a ratio of 598-to-386 stocks. Traded volumes stood at 3.17 billion units valued at RM2.48mil.

       Dealers said the local bourse was lifted mainly by banking and Petronas-linked stocks while the broader market remained cautious.

       Petronas Dagangan rose 30 sen to RM20.90, Petronas Gas climbed six sen to RM17.38 and Petronas Chemicals added four sen to RM9.26.

       Maybank added three sen to RM8.60, Public Bank gained one sen to RM4.36, CIMB rose six sen to RM5.61, Hong Leong Bank gained 26 sen to RM20.26 and RHB Bank climbed one sen to RM5.82.

       Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia Energy Index added 0.77% to 794.9 points as crude oil prices rose on geopolitical concerns over Ukraine.

       Reuters reported that Brent crude was down 12 cents, or 0.1%, at US$94.32 a barrel by 0844 GMT, after earlier hitting a peak of US$96.16, the highest since October 2014.

       US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 1 cent, or less than 0.1%, to US$93.11 a barrel, hovering near a session high of US$94.94, the loftiest since September 2014, Reuters reported.

       RHB Research has its crude oil price forecast to between US$75 and US$90 per barrel for 2022-2023, to reflect the heightened geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and the continuous shortfall in meeting Opec’s production quota.

       On the external front, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 2.23% to close at 27,079.59.

       South Korea’s Kospi closed down 43.23 points, or 1.57%, at 2,704.48 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 350.09 points, or 1.41% at 24,556.57.

       China’s CSI300 index fell 1.1%, to 4,551.69, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1% to 3,428.88.