KUALA LUMPUR: Domestic banks jumped on news that the US Federal Reserve had slashed its interest rate by 25bps for the third time this year, sending the FBM KLCI higher for the third straight session.
Across global equity markets, sentiment was lifted by the Fed's latest policy move to bolster a slowing economy.
Among bellwether indices, Japan's Nikkei was up 0.3% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.1%. China's Shanghai Composite Index was the rare laggard owing to the release of its October manufacturing data that showed contraction for a sixth straight month.