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
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Wall Street's main indexes fell on Wednesday, as rising US Treasury yields and losses in McDonald's and Coca-Cola impacted investor sentiment. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to a three-month high, raising concerns over the potential size of future Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, as strong economic data suggests a less dovish stance from the central bank.
"When you get a 10-year Treasury yield at 4.25%, it pressures the stock market, slowing down the rally and causing some nervousness," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.
Rate-sensitive growth stocks were among the hardest hit, with Nvidia down 1.8% and Apple slipping 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq saw a 0.47% decline, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones also fell by 0.34% and 0.57%, respectively.
McDonald's slumped 6.1% following an E. coli outbreak linked to its Quarter Pounder hamburgers, which resulted in one death and multiple illnesses, dragging down the Consumer Discretionary sector by 0.7%. Coca-Cola also dipped 2.7% despite reiterating its annual profit growth forecast, contributing to the market's downturn.
On the positive side, Texas Instruments rose 4% after beating profit forecasts, and AT&T gained 1% on stronger-than-expected subscriber growth. However, Qualcomm dropped 2.7% following reports that Arm Holdings may cancel its license to use chip-design intellectual property.
Investors are keeping a close watch on the Fed’s Beige Book and remarks from Fed official Thomas Barkin for further insights into the central bank’s outlook. Additionally, market volatility may increase due to the upcoming US presidential election, with concerns that a second Donald Trump administration could boost spending, widen the fiscal deficit, and drive inflation higher.
Despite the day's declines, the overall earnings season has been strong, with 83% of S&P 500 companies reporting earnings that exceeded estimates, according to LSEG data. However, the combination of a changing monetary policy outlook and political uncertainty could challenge the market's recent highs.
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