KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia gave up earlier gains to end mixed today, amid a higher regional market showing, as property, construction, and healthcare counters attracted buying interests, while plantation, banking, and telecommunication stocks saw some profit-taking, an analyst said. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 1.70 points to close at 1,602.34 from yesterday’s close of 1,604.04. The benchmark index, which opened 0.86 of-a-point lower at 1,603.18, moved between 1,601.02 and 1,608.88 during the trading session. However, the broader market was mixed to higher, with gainers leading decliners by 565 to 438 while 502 counters remained unchanged, 961 untraded, and 14 suspended. Turnover narrowed to 2.83 billion units valued at RM2.08 billion versus 2.96 billion units valued at RM2.23 billion yesterday. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the benchmark index remained range-bound and it required a dec
Asian markets mostly held their ground on Monday, supported by China's latest stimulus measures, but Japan's Nikkei took a sharp dive, driven by concerns that the country’s new prime minister might favor normalizing interest rates.
The Nikkei fell 4.0%, as investors were uncertain about Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s stance on the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) monetary policy, despite his weekend comments suggesting that monetary policy "must remain accommodative" due to the current state of the economy. The uncertainty led to a brief recovery in the yen, with the dollar bouncing 0.5% to ¥142.85 after falling from ¥146.49 on Friday.
Meanwhile, China's central bank announced plans to lower mortgage rates on existing home loans by 50 basis points on average by the end of October. This comes as part of Beijing's largest stimulus package since the pandemic, aimed at tackling deflation risks and reviving the economy. Christian Keller, head of economic research at Barclays, noted that this indicates the Chinese government is becoming more serious about addressing the economic downturn.
On Wall Street, markets continued their strong performance after a favorable core US inflation reading on Friday, with futures indicating a 53% chance of a 50-basis-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve in November. S&P 500 futures rose 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures added 0.2%, signaling continued optimism as the S&P 500 is up 20% year-to-date, on track for its strongest January-September performance since 1997.
In commodities, gold reached record highs at $2,685 an ounce, buoyed by a weaker dollar and lower bond yields, while oil prices remained volatile due to concerns over increased supply from Saudi Arabia amid Middle East tensions.
Overall, while China's stimulus measures provided some stability across Asia, concerns over Japan's monetary policy and US rate cuts continue to drive market uncertainty.
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