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.
Market Reaction Ekovest Bhd (KL:EKOVEST) and Knusford Bhd (KL:KNUSFOR) shares slid sharply on Tuesday after their proposed RM450 million merger fell through following the third extended deadline. Ekovest: Closed down 7.95% at 40.5 sen , with a market cap of RM1.2 billion . Knusford: Dropped 17.7% to 51 sen , valuing the company at RM50.82 million . Ekovest was the second most traded stock on Bursa Malaysia , with 104.44 million shares exchanged , more than nine times its 90-day average. Knusford’s trading volume surged to 5.55 million shares , 33 times higher than usual. Merger Falls Through Both companies confirmed they were “unable to reach an agreement on the transaction value and key terms.” While the deal has lapsed, they left the door open for future discussions if conditions improve. The merger, first announced in October 2023 , would have seen Knusford acquire Ekovest Construction Sdn Bhd ...