KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded to close higher on Wednesday on selective buying of defensive stocks after a volatile trading session. IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said consumer products and services stocks lifted the key index higher, overcoming lingering geopolitical concerns. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.08 points to 1,715.56 from yesterday’s close of 1,712.48. The benchmark index, which opened 1.91 points higher at 1,714.39, moved between 1,710.79 and 1,720.59 during the day’s trading. In the broader market, gainers outstripped decliners 550 to 476, while 612 counters were unchanged, 1,129 untraded, and 48 suspended. Turnover rose to 2.96 billion units valued at RM2.48 billion from 2.94 billion units valued at RM2.56 billion on Tuesday.
The Bank of England (BOE) will reduce the cash buffer it holds against losses as it scales back its quantitative easing (QE) bond-buying program . Officials said this move aims to deliver better "value for money" for taxpayers. BOE Governor Andrew Bailey and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves agreed on the adjustments, which follow a reduction in the Asset Purchase Facility (APF) from £895 billion to £655 billion since early 2022. This reduction potentially offered Reeves additional budgetary flexibility for the recent budget plan on October 30 . Background : The BOE initially implemented QE to support economic growth after the 2008 financial crisis and 2020 pandemic , acquiring bonds that have now resulted in projected lifetime losses between £50 billion and £100 billion . Although QE generated a £123 billion profit when interest rates were near zero, it started to incur losses once rates surpassed 2% in 2022. Reeves confirmed that the cash management framework...