KUALA LUMPUR – Bursa Malaysia closed higher today as risk appetite was lifted after Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) kept the overnight policy rate (OPR) unchanged at 3%, a move seen as supportive of the domestic economy.
At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) added 4.32 points to 1,535.83 from yesterday’s close of 1,531.51.
The benchmark index, which opened 0.19 of a point higher at 1,531.70, moved within a narrow range between 1,531.70 and 1,539.60 throughout the day.
On the broader market, gainers outnumbered decliners 546 to 452, while 430 counters were unchanged, 847 untraded and 29 suspended.
However, turnover fell to 3.55 billion units worth RM2.60 billion from 3.65 billion units worth RM2.66 billion yesterday.
Mohd Sedek Jantan, head of wealth research and advisory and a designated portfolio manager at UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors, said the market was buoyed by the Malaysian central bank’s decision to maintain the OPR at 3%, in line with analysts’ forecasts.
“Looking ahead, tomorrow’s release of US non-farm payroll numbers, unemployment rate and wage data are anticipated to align with market expectations, further justifying the case for the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to consider reducing interest rates in the second half of the year,” he told Bernama.
Fed chairman Jerome Powell, in his two-day Congressional testimony beginning Wednesday, reportedly said that interest rates will be cut this year but borrowing costs will remain high going forward.
Sedek also noted that Malaysia’s primary trading partner, China, reported robust export and import growth for February, with export growth accelerating to 7.1% year-on-year and imports expanding by 3.5%. “We anticipate that Malaysia’s exports to China will improve following the decline observed in January, in line with this positive development,” he added.
Among heavyweight counters, Maybank added six sen to RM9.70, CIMB rose one sen to RM6.52 while Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional were unchanged at RM4.30 and RM11.16, respectively. Petronas Chemicals slid to two sen to RM6.94.
As for the active stocks, Powerwell Holdings rallied 5.5 sen to 36.5 sen, Econpile added 4.5 sen to RM4.10 and Velesto Energy inched up one sen to 28 sen. Widad Group and TWL Holdings were both flat at 9.5 sen and 3.5 sen, respectively. – March 7, 2024