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.
Asian equities surged to fresh record peaks on Friday, tracking Wall Street’s rally as investors priced in a series of US Federal Reserve rate cuts that could ease borrowing costs worldwide. Record-Breaking Gains Across Asia Indices in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan all touched new highs, buoyed by expectations of continued AI-driven earnings growth . Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.6% , extending its weekly gain to 3.7%, while South Korea’s market jumped 1.1% for a 5% weekly surge. China’s blue-chip index edged 0.2% higher, reaching its strongest level since early 2022. The broad MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index climbed 1.2%, while futures signaled European shares would follow suit, with EUROSTOXX 50, FTSE, and DAX futures all up 0.3%. Fed Rate Cuts in Focus The latest US CPI report came in largely in line with expectations, with core prices rising 0.3% in August and 3.1% year-on-year. Economists at Citi now forecast the Fed’s preferred...