KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia extended its losing streak for a fourth consecutive session, closing lower on Thursday amid continued broad-based selling that weighed on market sentiment, an analyst said. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) slid 9.23 points or 0.57 per cent to 1,585.96 from Wednesday's close of 1,595.19. The benchmark index opened 3.61 points lower at 1,591.58 and fluctuated between an intraday low of 1,583.66 and a high of 1,592.89 throughout the day. Market breadth remained negative with losers thumping gainers 799 to 318, while 476 counters were unchanged, 1,181 untraded and 13 suspended. Turnover climbed to 3.06 billion units valued at RM2.56 billion compared with yesterday’s 2.90 billion units valued at RM2.33 billion.
Austan Goolsbee , President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago , emphasized on Thursday that interest rates need to come down significantly over the next 12 months . Goolsbee highlighted that while inflation has cooled and is nearing the Fed’s 2% target, the central bank’s focus has now shifted to maintaining stability in the job market , where the unemployment rate currently sits at 4.2% . In an interview on WBEZ , Goolsbee stated, "Rates need to come down over the next 12 months by a lot," reiterating that the Fed is now concentrating on preventing further increases in unemployment while keeping inflation under control. Last month, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a half percentage point , marking its first rate reduction since the pandemic began. This larger-than-expected move was aimed at supporting the slowing labor market . As the November Fed meeting approaches, officials are expected to implement smaller, quarter-point cuts , though the extent of any red...