KUALA LUMPUR: Stock market prices are consolidating on the domestic market as traders turn cautious ahead of Bank Negara's overnight policy rate decision, to be announced tomorrow, while the global markets are on tenterhooks over the ongoing US mid-term elections.
Analysts are mostly of the view that the Malaysian central bank will maintain the interbank rate at 2.75% at the conclusion of its policy meeting tomorrow.
Meanwhile, a host of other local developments are waiting to unfold, including the ongoing 3Q26 earnings season and continued positioning ahead of the FBM KLCI’s phased expansion from 30 to 50 constituents keeping flows selective.
According to Apex Securities, this is compounded by the political overhang from the Sarawak and Melaka (14 November) state elections and GE16 speculation.
"We expect the FBM KLCI to continue consolidating within the 1,600-1,630 range, with external AI-valuation and geopolitical swings likely to keep volatility elevated even as the local PMI recovery offers a steadying counterweight," it said in its market outlook.
At 9.10am, the FBM KLCI was down 3.3 points to 1,616.
The biggest drags were Hong Leong Bank, down 16 sen to RM21.18 and Nestle falling RM1.76 to RM94.12.
MISC rose eight sen to RM8.43, YTL Power gained four sen to RM5.19 and Press Metal
rose five sen to RM7.01.
Among the leading actives, Aizo was up one sen to eight sen, NWE Resources unchanged at 20 sen and HB Global down 0.5 sen to 1.5 sen.
