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 Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) maintained its current monetary policy stance on Tuesday, keeping the slope, midpoint, and width of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (SNEER) band unchanged . The decision came as Singapore’s economy grew 2.9% year-on-year in Q3 , outpacing forecasts of 1.9%. The central bank noted that growth has been stronger than expected , with the output gap remaining positive in 2025 before normalizing next year. Economists said the impact of U.S. tariffs has been milder than feared. OCBC’s Selena Ling expects 2025 GDP growth of about 3% , while Maybank’s Chua Hak Bin projects an even higher 3.5% , citing resilient domestic demand and exports. Singapore continues to rely on its exchange rate-based policy instead of interest rates, adjusting the SNEER through three levers — the slope, midpoint, and band width...