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.
All three major US stock indices closed higher on Wednesday, with a strong performance from the technology sector compensating for investor disappointment following a morning inflation report. The report diminished hopes that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates by 50 basis points next week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 124.75 points (0.31%) to 40,861.71, the S&P 500 gained 58.61 points (1.07%) to 5,554.13, and the Nasdaq Composite surged 369.65 points (2.17%) to 17,395.53. The S&P 500 technology index led the charge, finishing up 3.3%, boosted significantly by AI chipmaker Nvidia , which added 8% following reports that the US government might allow exports of advanced chips to Saudi Arabia. This uptick in the tech sector provided essential support to the broader market, despite inflation concerns. Earlier in the day, the Labor Department's consumer price index (CPI) showed a 0.2% rise for August, aligning with July's figure, while the Core CPI ,...