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.
Hong Kong banks borrowed HK$4.79 billion ($617 million) from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) via the discount window on Monday, marking the highest short-term borrowing since December 2019. The increase in liquidity demand reflects rising borrowing costs and tighter Hong Kong dollar liquidity. This surge in borrowing comes as the one-month Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rates (Hibor) climbed to its highest level in two months, fueled by demand for local assets amid a rally in Chinese stocks . Other contributing factors include soaring equity settlement demand , increasing margin financing activities, and ongoing silver bond subscriptions . Ken Cheung, chief Asia FX strategist at Mizuho Bank , noted that the increased usage of the discount window mirrors tighter liquidity conditions and rising demand for Hong Kong dollar assets. The Hong Kong dollar has remained relatively stable, trading just below 7.77 per dollar , within its pegged range of 7.75 to 7.85 against the US dol...