Public Bank at all-time high on rate hike boost

PETALING JAYA: Public Bank's share price continued to hit a fresh high on strong buying into banking stocks following Bank Negara's Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) action last week.
The stock, which was one of the top gainers today, rose as much as 48 sen or 2.2% to RM22.38 in early trade. At 2.40pm, it was up 18 sen or 0.8% to RM22.08 on some 3.86 million shares done.
Maybank, CIMB Bank, OCBC Bank and Hong Leong Bank have announced increases in their lending and deposit rates, but Public Bank has yet to do so.
The OPR hike is seen as positive news for the banking stocks as higher lending rates will help increase their net interest margins.