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.
The FBM KLCI index started the day with a plunge to a low of 1,638.88 before rebounding to close marginally lower at 1,643.95, down 0.46 points from a day earlier. This was largely due to the concern of a global economic meltdown with regional markets continued to head south. FBM KLCI closed marginally lower The first trading day of the Lunar Year doesn't go so well for Hong Kong market as it led the fall in the regional markets today. Hang Seng Index plunged 3.85% to 18,545.80 points as the sentiment was badly hit by the violent street protest in the special administrative region on the second day of Chinese New Year. The growing concerns on the US interest rate policy's direction and the health of global financial institutions also contributes to the negative sentiments and feeling around the equity market. Overnight, the US Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen spoke about risks to the economic outlook that could delay the central bank’s plans for raising rates. M...