KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed higher, buoyed by Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 2.75 per cent, alongside positive cues from Wall Street. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 19.30 points, or 1.19 per cent, to 1,635.86 from Wednesday’s close of 1,616.56. The benchmark index opened 6.72 points higher at 1,623.28, and fluctuated between an intraday high of 1,642.44 and a low of 1,622.62 during the trading session. However, market breadth was negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 723 to 497, while 466 counters were unchanged, 1,075 untraded and 10 suspended. Turnover rose to 3.74 billion units valued at RM3.61 billion compared with yesterday’s 2.81 billion units valued at RM2.57 billion.
Key Takeaway: Northvolt, Europe’s leading EV battery manufacturer, is grappling with production issues, missed targets, and financial strains, underscoring the difficulties of scaling up in the competitive battery market. Production Challenges Missed Targets: Northvolt has been consistently missing weekly production goals for shippable battery cells since September. Internal documents show a target of 51,000 cells per week by the end of 2024, but recent output was around 26,000 cells for the week ending Nov. 10. The original "Path to 100k" roadmap aiming for 100,000 cells per week this year has now been classified as "informal" and is not expected to be met. Operational Issues: Production at one of two manufacturing buildings in Skellefteå was suspended in late October and is expected to remain halted until December. To cut costs, Northvolt has ended 24/7 production cycles , now operating only on weekdays. Key Obstacles: Faulty machinery, inexperienced staff, ...