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.
Amid growing global trade tensions, Singapore has narrowly dodged a technical recession , thanks to a pre-tariff export rush and a rebound in construction. Q2 GDP grew +1.4% quarter-on-quarter , beating estimates of 0.8% and reversing Q1’s -0.5% contraction. On a year-on-year basis , growth came in at +4.3% , outperforming the median forecast of 3.6%. What Drove the Rebound? Front-Loaded Exports Before Aug 1 Tariffs Manufacturing grew slightly at +0.1% , but was driven by firms rushing to ship out goods before US tariffs kick in . Services sectors expanded +1.4% QoQ and +4.8% YoY , also linked to trade-related activity and logistics. Public Sector Construction Boom Construction rebounded +4.4% QoQ after a -1.8% dip in Q1, helping support domestic demand. “The rebound is welcome, but headwinds are coming,” said Selena Ling, OCBC’s research head. “The key concern is post-August — once the tariff shield dro...