KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed higher today, buoyed by supportive local economic policies, positive sentiment from strong technology stocks earnings, and a favourable United States (US) market outlook, an analyst said. Add to that, Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 3.0 per cent is poised to encourage domestic spending and investment. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 13.47 points, or 0.83 per cent, to close at its intraday high of 1,634.17, compared to Tuesday’s close of 1,620.70. The benchmark index opened 3.71 points higher at 1,624.41 and subsequently hit a low of 1,623.52 in early trade before trending upwards toward the closing session. Market breadth was positive, with advancers trumping decliners 849 to 352, while 428 counters were unchanged, 765 untraded, and nine suspended. Turnover expanded to 3.39 billion units
Barclays reported a robust 18% rise in third-quarter profit, beating forecasts as slower-than-expected interest rate cuts and a strong performance in its investment banking division prompted the bank to raise its income outlook for the year.
The British bank’s pretax profit for July-September hit £2.2 billion (US$2.85 billion or RM12.4 billion), surpassing both last year’s £1.9 billion and analysts' estimates of £2 billion. The strong performance led Barclays to upgrade its net interest income forecast for the year, expecting it to exceed £11 billion, rather than just meet that target.
Barclays' shares have surged 61% this year, nearing a nine-year high, and rose another 4% in early trading on Thursday. Analysts welcomed the results, with Richard Hunter, an analyst at Interactive Investor, stating that the positive market reaction was well-deserved.
The bank’s domestic lending business continued to perform well, supported by its £600 million acquisition of Tesco's banking arm earlier this year. Return on tangible equity for this unit rose to 23.4%, up from 21% a year ago.
In its investment banking division, third-quarter income rose 6% year-on-year, exceeding expectations due to increased corporate fundraising, dealmaking, and equities trading. Fixed income, currencies, and commodities revenue rose 3% to £1.18 billion, while advisory fee income surged 133% to £186 million.
Although Barclays' investment bank lagged behind some US and European rivals in overall performance, CFO Anna Cross noted that the bank fared well compared to US peers, particularly when factoring in the impact of reporting dollar revenues in pounds.
Barclays’ gains follow a major reorganization earlier this year aimed at improving investor confidence and further expanding its domestic lending business while optimizing its use of resources in the investment bank.
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