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.
Strategic Misstep Highlights Fragility of AI Rollouts in Banking Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the country’s largest lender, has reversed its decision to eliminate 45 customer service roles, initially slated for redundancy due to artificial intelligence (AI) implementation. The about-face follows intense scrutiny and legal action from the Finance Sector Union (FSU), raising broader questions about AI deployment strategy and workforce impact in the financial sector. Voice Bot Efficiency Claims Disputed CBA’s justification for the cuts relied on the claim that its new voice bot technology had reduced weekly call volumes by 2,000. However, the FSU contested this assertion, presenting evidence of increasing call activity and reports that staff were required to work overtime. Team leaders were also reportedly called in to handle overflow, contradicting the bank’s efficiency narrative. CBA acknowledged its misjudgment, stating the roles "were not redundant" and that their ...