KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed higher, buoyed by Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 2.75 per cent, alongside positive cues from Wall Street. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 19.30 points, or 1.19 per cent, to 1,635.86 from Wednesday’s close of 1,616.56. The benchmark index opened 6.72 points higher at 1,623.28, and fluctuated between an intraday high of 1,642.44 and a low of 1,622.62 during the trading session. However, market breadth was negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 723 to 497, while 466 counters were unchanged, 1,075 untraded and 10 suspended. Turnover rose to 3.74 billion units valued at RM3.61 billion compared with yesterday’s 2.81 billion units valued at RM2.57 billion.
A stronger than expected October jobs report boost the chances of a December rate hike and Wall Street dropped slightly lower on Friday to reflect that.
Out of the 10 major sectors in S&P, nine were lower, with the interest rate sensitive utilities sector's 3% decline being the worst while the financial sectors was only up by 1% and the only gainer.
| S&P 500 Index dropped slightly on Friday |
The Labor Department's report showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 271,000 in October, beating the 180,000 expected. Data for August and September were revised to show 12,000 more jobs on average were created than previously reported.
The unemployment rate fell to 5.0%, the lowest since April 2008, from 5.1% in September. The jobless rate is now at a level many Fed officials view as consistent with full employment.
"I think it's good news — it's good news for the economy, eventually the market will take it as good news," said Sean Lynch, co-head of global equity strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute in Omaha, Nebraska.
"It's a blowout number, it's a strong number for the jobs and the consumer should be feeling pretty good heading into the last couple of the months of the year."
The dollar rose to a 6½-month high after the data.
Higher rates increase borrowing costs for companies, while a rise in the dollar hurts their income from overseas markets.
Comments
Post a Comment