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.
Invest at the bottom of the market and sell at the top. That’s solid advice, but it’s not easy to follow. Consider the stock market right now, for example. Is this the top of the market? Is it time to sell? With the American stock market already up more than 300 percent since March 2009, including dividends, these are pertinent questions. Several readers asked them in response to last week’s column, which pointed out that wherever the market goes next, it is definitely not at the bottom now. After years of spectacular gains, stocks are anything but cheap. What’s more, the market has been so placid this year — despite the turmoil emanating from Washington — that the calm on Wall Street has been almost supernatural. By some measures, stocks haven’t been this steady in more than 50 years. Furthermore, the economic expansion now underway is already the third longest since 1854. It takes little imagination to envision a sudden rout. Those observations unnerved some readers who aske...