KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia closed marginally higher yesterday, supported by continued buying in banking heavyweights following Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision to maintain the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 2.75%.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.98 points, or 0.11%, to 1,758.85 from Wednesday’s close of 1,756.87.
The benchmark index, which opened 5.94 points higher at 1,762.81, moved between 1,758.42 and 1,768.46 during the day.
Market breadth was positive with gainers beating losers 660 to 583.
A total of 593 counters were unchanged, 815 untraded, and nine suspended.
Furthermore, turnover eased to 3.78 billion units worth RM4.24bil, compared with 3.98 billion units worth RM3.97bil on Wednesday.
IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said BNM’s decision to hold the OPR signals confidence in domestic demand resilience, while acknowledging rising downside risks from external shocks, particularly geopolitical tensions and commodity price volatility.
“The policy stance effectively validates the market’s current positioning, with a preference for domestically insulated earnings streams amid an uncertain global backdrop,” he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI pared earlier session gains due to late profit-taking but managed to finish in the green.
“Key regional indices trended higher as growing optimism over a potential US-Iran peace deal lifted sentiment across risk-driven markets,” he said.
“Regional bourses also took cues from Wall Street’s strong overnight performance, driven mainly by gains in technology and chip-related stocks.”
