KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 — Bursa Malaysia maintained its uptrend at mid-afternoon as risk appetite in the market remained stable following Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision to keep the overnight policy rate (OPR) unchanged at three per cent.

At 3pm, the benchmark index increased 7.38 points to 1,503.49 from yesterday’s close of 1,496.11.

The barometer index opened 1.05 points better at 1,497.16.

On the broader market, gainers beat losers 548 to 376, while 416 counters were unchanged, 947 untraded and 19 others suspended.

Turnover stood at 2.49 billion units worth RM1.47 billion.

BNM’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to kept the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 3.00 per cent for the fourth consecutive session during its first meeting of the year today.

In a statement today, the central bank said that 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 MPC remains vigilant to ongoing developments to inform the assessment on the outlook of domestic inflation and growth, and will ensure that the monetary policy stance remains conducive to sustainable economic growth amid price stability,” it said.

Meanwhile, Bursa heavyweights Public Bank and Petronas Chemical edged up two sen each to RM4.37 and RM6.81, respectively, and CIMB increased 10 sen to RM6.12, while Maybank was flat at RM9.09 and Tenaga decreased eight sen to RM10.42.

Of the actives, Widad Group inched up half-a-sen to 19 sen, YNH Property rose five sen to 66 sen and MRCB gained 2.5 sen to 56 sen, while Handal Energy and Leform were half-a-sen lower at 10.5 sen and 19 sen, respectively.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index rose 55.11 points to 11,199.29, the FBM 70 Index increased 50.08 points to 15,175.80, the FBMT 100 Index firmed 48.81 points to 10,850.85, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index improved 35.72 points to 11,274.57.

However, the FBM ACE Index fell 35.33 points to 4,818.55.

Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index climbed 48.34 points to 16,749.80, the Property Index picked up 11.72 points to 914.86, the Plantation Index expanded 40.28 points to 7,196.08, the Industrial Products and Services Index edged up 1.27 points to 175.02, and the Energy Index gained 6.86 points to 865.02.

Bursa Malaysia Bhd and its subsidiaries will be closed tomorrow, January 25, in conjunction with Thaipusam.

Operations will resume on Friday, January 26. — Bernama