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.
DBS Group Holdings Ltd has launched a S$3 billion (US$2.25 billion) share buyback following strong third-quarter results driven by wealth management fees and markets trading income. The Southeast Asian bank’s robust capital position supports this buyback, marking a continued commitment to returning capital to investors, a strategy championed by outgoing CEO Piyush Gupta. DBS shares surged nearly 6% in Singapore on Thursday, outperforming rivals OCBC and UOB, with the stock up over 36% this year. Analysts at Morgan Stanley noted that while the buyback is positive, the high valuation—DBS trades at 1.7 times book value—limits value creation. DBS reported a 15% increase in net income to S$3.03 billion, surpassing analyst estimates of S$2.74 billion, with wealth management contributing significantly, echoing trends at global banks like HSBC and Standard Chartered. The bank also announced an interim dividend of 54 Singapore cents, yielding 5.5%. Looking ahead, DBS expects a glob...