KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded to close higher on Wednesday on selective buying of defensive stocks after a volatile trading session. IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said consumer products and services stocks lifted the key index higher, overcoming lingering geopolitical concerns. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.08 points to 1,715.56 from yesterday’s close of 1,712.48. The benchmark index, which opened 1.91 points higher at 1,714.39, moved between 1,710.79 and 1,720.59 during the day’s trading. In the broader market, gainers outstripped decliners 550 to 476, while 612 counters were unchanged, 1,129 untraded, and 48 suspended. Turnover rose to 2.96 billion units valued at RM2.48 billion from 2.94 billion units valued at RM2.56 billion on Tuesday.
The FBM KLCI index lost 10.18 points or 0.62% on Monday. FBM KLCI index dropped by 0.62% The Malaysian market seen a sharp drop as low crude oil prices and anticipation of the US interest rate decision hit the Asian market. Across Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 1.8%, South Korea's Kospi fell 1.07%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.72%. Asian share markets. US FED RATE ANTICIPATION AND LOW CRUDE OIL PRICES HIT BURSA MALAYSIA US policy makers will meet tomorrow (Dec 15) and on Wednesday (Dec 16) to decide on the country's monetary policy. A US rate hike does not bode well for emerging Asian markets like Malaysia as investors turn their attention to US dollar-denominated assets. A US rate hike will be the country's first increase in about seven years from near-zero levels. Crude oil prices have fallen below US$40 a barrel on oversupply concerns. At the time of writing, Brent oil was trading at US$37.74 a barrel. Sentiment on crude oil als...