KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed lower on Friday amid mixed regional market performance as investors turned cautious over a possible rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and upcoming US economic data that may influence the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate decision next week. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) pared most earlier losses to settle 4.55 points easier, or 0.28 per cent, to 1,616.52 from Thursday’s close of 1,621.07. The benchmark index, which opened 0.37 of-a-point lower at 1,620.70, moved between 1,609.67 and 1,621.25 throughout the day. The broader market was negative, with decliners outpacing advancers 604 to 439. A total of 550 counters were unchanged, 1,151 untraded, and 18 suspended. Turnover declined to 3.17 billion units worth RM2.24 billion from 4.48 billion units worth RM2.75 billion yesterday. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-presiden...
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.
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| 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.
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