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.
Asian share markets attempted to stabilize on Thursday following a steep global sell-off, while a rally in US Treasuries weakened the dollar and boosted the yen. Concerns over the US economy have heightened expectations of significant interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed). Key Market Movements: Equities: Japan's Nikkei fell 0.5% to its lowest level in three weeks. Tech-heavy markets in Taiwan and South Korea both rose by 1%, helping lift MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan by 0.6%, breaking a three-day losing streak. US Economic Data: Investors are closely watching a week full of economic data releases, including Wednesday's mixed labor data and Tuesday's weak manufacturing figures, which have kept markets jittery. The focus is on the upcoming US services industry reading and jobless claims data. However, the key event will be Friday's August non-farm payrolls report, expected to provide clear indications of the US economy's dire...