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.
A UK cabinet minister has fueled speculation that the government may increase payroll taxes for businesses by raising their national insurance contributions (NICs) , a move aimed at addressing the public finance gap. In an interview with Sky News, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds emphasized that the Labour government’s manifesto only promised not to raise NICs for employees, leaving open the possibility of increasing contributions for employers. National insurance is a payroll tax paid by both workers and businesses. When pressed about the election campaign pledge, Reynolds clarified, "The pledge was specifically in reference to employees." According to a person familiar with Labour’s budget plans , raising employers' NICs is under consideration by Chancellor Rachel Reeves and would not violate the manifesto, which focused on protecting working people from tax increases. Last week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer also left open the possibility of a payrol...