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.
New Zealand’s central bank surprised markets with a dovish pivot, slashing its policy rate to a three-year low of 3.00% and signaling the possibility of further rate cuts as economic conditions weaken both domestically and globally. Key Policy Action Rate cut: 25 basis points, bringing the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 3.00% Lowest level since: Early 2022 Dissenting votes: 2 of 6 members voted for a deeper 50bps cut New projected floor: OCR at 2.55% by Q1 2026 (down from 2.85%) Market Reaction NZD/USD fell as much as 1.2% to a 4-month low of $0.5829 2-year swap rates dropped to 2.96% , the lowest in over three years Market pricing: Now implies a >100% chance of another cut in November , and ~50% chance in October RBNZ Policy Statement Highlights “Cautious behaviour by households and businesses could further dampen economic growth… There is scope to l...