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.
Major video game publishers like Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive are expected to avoid significant impacts from the ongoing strike by voice actors and motion-capture artists due to their in-house studios and long development cycles, according to analysts. The strike, which began last week, is the latest labor action in Hollywood, following last year's strikes by writers and actors seeking protections against AI. This comes at a crucial time for the video game industry, where demand remains weak post-pandemic, with players focusing on major titles. However, the strike is not expected to cause major disruptions. Voice actors and motion-capture artists constitute a small part of the game development process and budget. "When you think about the larger publishers, they'll spend anywhere from three to 10 years working on their larger titles. If something is coming out over the next several quarters, it will have been something that they began production on several ye...