KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended higher on Friday as investors continued to accumulate blue-chip stocks in line with stronger performances across most regional markets. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 4.50 points to 1,724.90 from yesterday’s close of 1,720.40. The benchmark index opened 0.83 of a point higher at 1,721.23, and moved between 1,715.67 and 1,730.12 throughout the day. The broader market was positive with gainers outpacing losers 707 to 402, while 547 counters were unchanged, 1,085 untraded and 56 suspended. Turnover expanded to 3.03 billion units valued at RM3.56 billion from 2.49 billion units valued at RM2.25 billion on Thursday.
Intel Options Activity Surges as Shares Slide; Competes With Palantir and AMD in Most Active Contracts
Intel’s stock options saw a massive spike in trading Friday as shares tumbled nearly 10%, putting the chipmaker in a three-way battle with Palantir and AMD for the third most active stock option of the day — behind usual leaders Tesla and Nvidia . Key Highlights: Intel’s options volume: ~1 million contracts (quadruple the 20-day average). Put options dominated: 476,540 contracts traded by mid-day, up sharply from Thursday’s 380,939. Most active contract: $17.50 put expiring in 35 days, with 43,840 contracts traded. Stock Performance: Intel shares fell as much as 9.9% to $20.39 , extending this year’s decline to almost 34%. The drop came after Intel’s Q3 gross margin guidance (36%) missed analyst estimates of 37.3%, overshadowing slightly better-than-expected Q2 revenue of $12.86 billion. Market Dynamics: AMD’s contrast: Shares have rallied ~20% over the past year, fueling demand for call options as inves...