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.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) reported a 17% increase in quarterly net income to 119.8 billion rupees ($1.4 billion) , surpassing analysts' estimates of 98.96 billion rupees, despite reduced production and weak crude prices. The strong performance was driven by doubling of non-core income to 47.66 billion rupees and lower expenses . ONGC’s earnings on crude sales fell 7.7% to $78.33 per barrel , while gas profits remained unchanged due to government-set prices. The company’s oil production was almost flat, with a 4.6% growth, and gas output dropped 2.1%. Demand concerns have impacted oil producers globally, yet ONGC, focusing on the domestic market, faces pressure from the Indian government to increase output and reduce oil imports. The company’s higher earnings will support its 350 billion rupee annual capital expenditure plan to fund ambitious exploration initiatives. Quarterly revenue dropped 3.6% to 338.8 billion rupees .