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...
Key Takeaways
Stock surge: Baidu shares jumped 16% in Hong Kong, adding US$6.4b in market value, biggest gain since March 2022.
Analyst upgrades: Arete flipped from sell to buy; Citi and Goldman also turned bullish on Baidu’s AI growth prospects.
Chip & cloud catalysts: Mass production of Baidu’s Kunlun AI chips and new China Merchants Group partnership expected to boost revenue.
AI model upgrade: New Ernie X1.1 shows “significant improvements,” even surpassing some DeepSeek benchmarks.
Baidu Rides AI Hype
Baidu’s shares surged on Wednesday as analysts highlighted the company’s AI chip and cloud opportunities. The rally came after Arete Research upgraded Baidu from sell to buy, reversing its lone bearish stance since May.
Options Activity Jumps
Investor enthusiasm spread to the derivatives market, with 170,000 contracts traded — more than triple the 20-day average — showing bets on further upside.
Kunlun Chip Momentum
Baidu’s Kunlun AI unit announced that its latest chip version has entered mass production, with contracts from China Mobile already secured. Analysts expect this venture to offset weakness in the company’s online advertising business.
Strategic Partnerships
Baidu signed a multi-year AI cooperation deal with China Merchants Group, which could meaningfully lift its cloud revenue.
AI Model Advances
Goldman Sachs flagged Baidu’s Ernie X1.1 model as showing “significant improvements”, outperforming a DeepSeek model in early benchmarks.
Outlook
With AI hardware and software gains, plus strategic partnerships, Baidu is regaining investor confidence. The 45% share rally in September signals rising conviction that Baidu could transform from a search-driven business into a core AI infrastructure player in China.
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