Hong Leong Maintains Overweight on Malaysia Utilities
Oil futures edged lower Monday, with West Texas Intermediate down 0.1% at $68.62 a barrel and Brent crude off 0.1% at $72.08, as futures hovered near the levels that prevailed before the U.S.-Iran conflict disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Neil Crosby, head of research at commodities researcher Sparta Commodities, said many traders remain cautious. “I still think a lot of people are sitting on the sidelines, and they’re not willing to do much risk at the moment,” Crosby said. He said oil has likely reached its most bearish point as trapped tankers have left through the strait, Chinese imports are low, U.S. exports are high, and access to strategic petroleum reserves continues. Crosby also noted that a large volume of Russian crude remains on the market because of attacks on refineries in Russia.
Separately, Baader Helvea lowered its Brent crude price forecast for 2026 to $87 a barrel from a prior $95, analyst Frederic Lorec wrote in a note. The revision brings the brokerage’s earnings-per-share estimate for France’s TotalEnergies down to $12.4 from $13.7 previously. TotalEnergies shares rose 0.3% to €67.16.
In Asia, Hong Leong IB analyst Daniel Wong said Malaysia’s utilities sector is set to benefit from accelerating data-center developments driving sustained electricity demand growth. Geopolitical shifts have encouraged Western data-center operators to diversify away from the Middle East to Southeast Asia, Wong noted. The second half of 2026 could see continued strong utilities demand, driven by a ramp-up in data-center deployments, he said.
Wong expects continued investment in power plants, renewable energy, battery storage and liquefied natural gas infrastructure to support rising demand. Hong Leong maintained an overweight rating on Malaysia’s utilities sector, citing earnings and dividend sustainability. The brokerage named Tenaga Nasional and YTL Power International as its top picks.