FBM KLCI higher after Bank Negara holds steady on OPR

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia finished higher on Thursday after Bank Negara kept its overnight policy rate (OPR) unchanged.

The central bank has maintained its OPR at 3%, a move widely expected by economists.

“At the current OPR level, the monetary policy stance remains supportive of the economy and is consistent with the current assessment of the inflation and growth prospects.

“The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) remains vigilant to ongoing developments to inform the assessment on the outlook of domestic inflation and growth. The MPC will ensure that the monetary policy stance remains conducive to sustainable economic growth amid price stability,” Bank Negara said in a statement.

At 5pm, the FBM KLCI closed up 4.44 points, or 0.31% to 1,439.77 after moving between its intraday high of 1,441.35 and low of 1,435.86.

The market’s breadth returned to positive territory with more stocks recovering. Specifically, 575 counters closed higher while 300 ended lower.

Liquidity also improved, with turnover increased to 3.38 billion valued at RM1.93bil.

Malaysian Pacific Industries was the top gainer, jumping 56 sen to RM25.98, followed by Hextar Technologies, which rose 48 sen to RM23.60 and F&N, which added 42 sen to RM26.18.

PPB slid 20 sen to RM15, BLD Plantation fell 20 sen to RM10.62, Transocean declined 10 sen to RM1.75 and Lysaght Galvanized gave up 10 sen to RM2.18.

SMTrack jumped 66.67%, or two sen to five sen with 221.97mil.

Among the banks, Public Bank rose two sen to RM4.17, RHB Bank added one sen to RM5.59, AmBank gained one sen to RM3.83 while Hong Leong Bank fell two sen to RM19.18.

Maybank and CIMB unchanged at RM9.02 and RM5.70 respectively.

Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.1%, South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.81%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.45% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up 0.75%.