KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s key index closed higher today on bargain hunting, in line with positive investor sentiment across regional markets, consolidating at its highest level in more than two months — a level last seen on Oct 2, 2025. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 12.42 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 1,637.81, compared with Thursday’s close of 1,625.39. The benchmark index opened 2.83 points lower at 1,622.56, thereafter edged down to an early low of 1,622.03, before staging an uptrend to an intraday high of 1,640.36 in late trading. Market breadth was positive, with gainers trouncing decliners at 743 versus 387. Another 530 counters were unchanged, 1,108 untraded, and 16 suspended. Turnover increased to 3.09 billion units worth RM2.46 billion from 2.99 billion units worth RM2.35 billion on Thursday. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI ended higher on continued...
JPMorgan’s $1.5 Trillion “Security and Resiliency Initiative” Ignites Rally in Critical-Industry Stocks
Shares of U.S. companies tied to rare earths, lithium, chips, and quantum computing surged after JPMorgan Chase (JPM.US) unveiled a $1.5 trillion plan to finance and invest in industries vital to national security and supply chain resilience.
Under the initiative, JPMorgan will:
Deploy $10 billion of its own capital to invest directly in key companies.
Extend $1.5 trillion in total financing over 10 years — about $500 billion more than its usual lending — targeting sectors such as AI, defense, energy storage, robotics, and quantum computing.
Form an external advisory council of public and private leaders to guide the long-term strategy.
The plan aligns with the Trump administration’s efforts to secure domestic production of critical minerals like lithium and rare earths, currently sourced mainly from China.
Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s CEO, said the U.S. remains “too reliant on unreliable sources of critical materials” and called for reforms to unlock investment hindered by “excessive regulations and partisan gridlock.”
Market Reaction
Rare-earth and lithium stocks jumped:
USA Rare Earth (USAR.US) +20.6%
MP Materials (MP.US) +24%
Lithium Americas (LAC.US) +11.4%
Albemarle (ALB.US) +7.9%
Ramaco Resources (METC.US) +11.2%
Quantum computing names rallied strongly:
IonQ (IONQ.US) +18.4%
Rigetti Computing (RGTI.US) +21%
D-Wave Quantum (QMCO.US) +23.1%
Intel (INTC.US) also gained 2%, reflecting renewed confidence in domestic semiconductor initiatives.
The S&P 500 rose 1.65%, marking its strongest session since May, as investors cheered the alignment between Wall Street and Washington in reshoring critical U.S. industries.
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