THE reduction of the interest rate will not alleviate the negative sentiments on the property market due to the worsening of Covid-19 outbreak, property analysts said. CBRE-WTW (CBRE Group Inc and CH Williams Talhar & Wong Sdn Bhd) MD Foo Gee Jen said Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) move to cut the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) for the second time in three months is to boost consumer spending. Assuming vaccines are developed against Covid-19, Foo said it would still take another three months for the property market to recover from the impacts of the epidemic. “Unfortunately, the rationale behind the OPR reduction is not so much to aid the housing industry, but to help consumers during the challenging time and boost spending in the country. “I doubt the confidence in the property market is going to be high due to the lower OPR, because almost all businesses are affected by the Covid-19 outbreak,” he told The Malaysian Reserve.
Bursa Malaysia ended the morning trading session lower due to the prevailing cautious sentiment over ongoing political developments in the country, as well as in line with the regional markets.
Bursa Malaysia opened lower this morning, tracking the weaker Wall Street performance overnight. At 9.05am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 4.16 points to 1,521.08, from Wednesday’s close of 1,525.24.
Bursa Malaysia ends morning session lower theedgemarkets.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theedgemarkets.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Bursa Malaysia opened slightly higher but retreated thereafter as profit-taking started to emerge in selected heavyweights following the recent gains, dealers said. At 9.28am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 6.53 points to 1,497.91 from Wednesday’s close of 1,504.44.