DiGi.Com Bhd, a Malaysian mobile- phone operator, rose to a record after UOB-Kay Hian Holdings Ltd recommended buying the stock because of its 'high' dividends and 'defensive' qualities amid the Middle East turmoil.

The stock climbed 2.6 per cent to RM26.64 at 12:06 pm local time, set to close at an all-time high, compared with the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index's 0.1 per cent decline. DiGi.Com is the biggest gainer on the gauge today.

'Telecommunications stocks stand out for their high dividend yields backed by stable cashflows, and our top telco pick is DiGi,' Vincent Khoo, an analyst at UOB-Kay Hian, wrote in a report today. 'Stay relatively defensive until the Middle East issue boils over.'

Digi.Com, which has gained 8.5 per cent this year, has a dividend yield of 6.14 per cent, compared with the average of 3.4 per cent for the 30 companies in the benchmark index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. DiGi.Com and PLUS Expressways Bhd. are among stocks investors should buy as Middle East violence boosts global equity risk premiums and oil prices, Khoo said.

Oil advanced for a sixth day in New York after reaching US$100 a barrel as Libya's violent uprising cut shipments from Africa's third-biggest producer.

The fighting in Libya, which holds Africa's largest oil reserves, is the most violent yet seen in six weeks of popular uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa, which have already unseated longtime rulers in Tunisia and Egypt.

Commodity and energy-linked sectors such as palm oil and oil and gas companies are also 'obvious beneficiaries' of higher oil prices while potential losers are AirAsia Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Khoo said. - Bloomberg