KUALA LUMPUR (March 10): Shares of Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd (KL:HIBISCS) and Petra Energy Bhd (KL:PENERGY) fell sharply on Tuesday, triggering a suspension of short selling in the stocks amid broader weakness across energy counters.

The exchange said short selling was halted after the last done prices of the two counters dropped more than 15% or 15 sen from their respective reference prices, triggering the automatic suspension mechanism.

Short selling for the stocks will only be reactivated on the following trading day, Wednesday (March 11), at 8.30am.

Petra Energy slid to an intraday low of 65.5 sen before gaining some ground but still down 13.5 sen or 16.17% to 70 sen by end of trading, with more than 3.6 million shares traded.

Hibiscus Petroleum touched an intraday low of RM2.00, before paring some of its losses and trading 28 sen or 11.72% lower at RM2.11, with over 52.6 million shares changing hands.It was one of the most atcively traded stock on the exchange.

The pullback came amid broader weakness across energy counters. The Bursa Malaysia Energy Index, which tracks 32 oil and gas-related stocks including service providers, was among four sector gauges trading in the red.

The index declined 3.12% to 781.55 points as crude oil fell below the US$100-per-barrel mark.

The retreat follows a strong rally in the sector a day earlier, when the gauge bucked the broader market trend.

On Monday, the energy index climbed as high as 833.05 — its highest level since Jan 24, 2025 — before ending the day up 1.4% at 806.74.

Leading the advance were Petra Energy, which surged 33% to 83.5 sen, and Hibiscus Petroleum, which rose 17% to RM2.39.

The gains were attributed to Brent crude oil prices surging past US$100 per barrel for the first time since 2022.

However, the commodity reversed course on Tuesday. At 7pm, Brent crude was down 7..2% to US$91.81 a barrel after US President Donald Trump signalled that the conflict in Iran could be nearing an end.