Malaysian Shares Defy Regional Gloom as Unemployment Holds Steady in April
Malaysian shares reversed yesterday's losses on Tuesday as the country's unemployment rate remained unchanged in April. The index bucked broader regional losses as concerns grow over a US-Iran ceasefire.The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 5.25 points to end 0.3% higher at 1,750.56. The day range was between 1,748.45 and 1,755.54.In economic news, Malaysia's unemployment rate stood at 2.9% in March, unchanged from the previous month, according to data released by the country's Department of Statistics. The number of unemployed persons in Malaysia rose 0.4% to 509,000 in March from 506,800 in February.Malaysia is also looking to strengthen its role in the global AI and semiconductor industry by encouraging more chip-related companies to list on Bursa Malaysia, The Star reported Tuesday, citing Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong.Moreover, Malaysia will continue with its fuel subsidy restructuring, prompted by a surge in spending, even with the possibility of a general election this year, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing a key finance ministry official.In corporate news, EI Power's (KLSE:EIPOWER) initial public offering (IPO) for listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia was oversubscribed by 30.77 times by the Malaysian public. The company received 21,490 applications for 1.11 billion shares worth 533.7 million ringgit, for the 35 million shares allocated to the public.Bumi Armada (KLSE:ARMADA) decided to voluntarily dissolve its unit, Bumi Armada (Labuan), as part of the group's streamlining exercise. Shares ended flat on Tuesday.
