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.
Stellantis NV has revised its profit margin forecast for 2024, citing higher costs to revive its Jeep and Dodge brands in the US and a broader global slowdown in the automotive sector. The company now expects an adjusted operating income margin of 5.5% to 7% , down from its earlier prediction of double digits . In addition, industrial free cash flow is forecast to be between negative €5 billion and negative €10 billion , a significant shift from previous guidance of positive cash flow. The automaker is accelerating efforts to reduce inventory in the US, aiming for fewer than 330,000 vehicles by the end of the year, ahead of its initial target of early 2025 . This adjustment from Stellantis follows similar guidance cuts from European automakers, including Volkswagen AG , which issued its second profit warning recently due to sluggish sales and increasing competition from Chinese rivals .