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.
Singapore’s manufacturing sector showed mixed performance in February, with headline output edging down 0.1% year-on-year , weighed by a sharp contraction in the biomedical cluster . Biomedical Decline Masks Underlying Strength Data from Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) revealed that biomedical output plunged 27.3% YoY , significantly dragging overall manufacturing performance. However, excluding this volatile segment, manufacturing output actually grew 3.9% , indicating underlying resilience in core industrial activity . Electronics Sector Provides Support The electronics cluster recorded growth , offering a key pillar of support amid broader weakness. In contrast, most other major clusters reported declines in output , suggesting uneven recovery across the sector. Monthly Contraction Signals Near-Term Weakness On a month-on-month basis, the data points to short-term softness : Overall output fell 7.2% (seasonally adjusted) Ex...