KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI extended its gains on Wednesday and breached the 1,500-point level after Bank Negara kept its overnight policy rate (OPR) unchanged.
The central bank has maintained its OPR at 3%, in line with market expectations.
“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,” Bank Negara said in a statement.
At 5pm, the FBM KLCI closed up 7.99 points, or 0.53% to 1,504.10, its highest in a year, after moving between its intraday high of 1,504.44 and low of 1,497.16.
The market’s breadth is positive with more stocks recovering. Specifically, 690 counters closed higher while 360 ended lower. Turnover stood at 4.34 billion shares valued at RM2.87bil.
Malaysian Pacific Industries
was the top gainer, jumping 40 sen to RM29.70, followed by MSM, wish rose 35 sen to RM2.29, Ideal, which gained 34 sen to RM3.47 and Pertama, which added 31 sen to RM2.90.
Among the losers, Allianz slid 40 sen to RM19.38, Rapid fell 21 sen to RM1.74, Hong Leong Financial Group lost 12 sen to RM16.26 and Hong Leong Capital declined 11 sen to RM4.27.
YNH Property, the third most actively traded counter on Bursa Malaysia, rose 4.5 sen to 65.5 sen with 110.4 million shares traded.
The developer has received offers from interested parties to purchase its retail shopping mall at Mont Kiara in Kuala Lumpur.
Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.8%, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.36%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index added 1.8% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up 3.56%.
