KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended at its intraday low on Thursday as investor sentiment remained cautious amid ongoing foreign outflows, although the recent weakness may present bargain-hunting opportunities in fundamentally sound blue-chip counters. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 9.33 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 1,708.36, from yesterday’s close of 1,717.69. The benchmark index, which opened 3.74 points higher at 1,721.43, hit an intraday high of 1,722.50 in early trade before losing momentum for the rest of the day. Market breadth was negative, with losers outpacing gainers 656 to 508, while 565 counters were unchanged, 989 untraded and 32 suspended. Turnover fell to 3.49 billion units worth RM3.70 billion compared with 4.15 billion units worth RM4.29 billion on Wednesday.
Simple Summary China’s key one-year bank funding rate has fallen to a record low PBOC charged some banks as little as 1.5% on policy loans in January Move lowers borrowing costs without headline rate cuts Signals continued, low-key support for economic growth What Happened China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China , allowed the interest rate on its one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) to fall to as low as 1.5% in January , down from 1.55% in December , according to people familiar with the matter. That compares with an official MLF rate of 2% a year ago , before the PBOC stopped publishing a single benchmark rate. Why This Matters Lower funding costs for banks , encouraging lending Supports an economy facing deflationary pressure and a prolonged property slump Helps stabilise bank net interest margins , which have been under strain Key point: This is another example of Beijing’s “drip-feed” stimulus ap...