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...
KUALA LUMPUR (July 7): The FBM KLCI closed down 10.18 points or 0.65% at 1,566.72 today while the FBM ACE was the top percentage gainer after Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) cut the overnight policy rate (OPR) by 25 basis points (bps) today to a record low of 1.75%.
Across Bursa Malaysia, 7.78 billion shares worth RM4.93 billion were traded. There were 648 decliners and 428 gainers.
The ACE index closed up 194.09 points or 2.75% at 7,246.90, while the healthcare and REIT indices rose 1.9% and 0.14% respectively.
BNM cut the OPR by 25 bps today to a record low of 1.75%, saying the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy is severe and that Malaysia’s economic activity contracted sharply in the second quarter of the year, due to measures introduced to contain the pandemic.
In a statement today, the central bank said Malaysia’s inflationary pressures are expected to be muted in 2020.
In theory, interest rate cuts are good for equities but bad for currencies.
Source: The Edge

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