The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day slide in which it had fallen more than 30 points or 1.9 percent. The Kuala Composite Index now rests just above the 1,600-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism for economy recovery and support from crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up on Friday and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.
The KLCI finished slightly higher on Friday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantations, telecoms and glove makers.
For the day, the index rose 3.69 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 1,601.42 after trading between 1,593.24 and 1,603.01. Volume was 5.959 billion shares worth 3.238 billion ringgit. There were 696 gainers and 345 decliners.
Among the actives, Axiata accelerated 1.10 percent, while CIMB Group sank 0.45 percent, Dialog Group tanked 1.28 percent, Digi.com surged 3.00 percent, Genting spiked 1.55 percent, Genting Malaysia soared 2.92 percent, Hartalega Holdings tumbled 0.93 percent, IOI Corporation lost 0.24 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong perked 0.70 percent, Maybank gained 0.24 percent, MISC skidded 0.72 percent, Petronas Chemicals plummeted 1.86 percent, PPB Group eased 0.11 percent, Press Metal shed 0.30 percent, Public Bank collected 0.48 percent, RHB Capital rose 0.19 percent, Sime Darby dropped 0.41 percent, Sime Darby Plantations gathered 0.84 percent, Supermax plunged 1.42 percent, Telekom Malaysia advanced 0.49 percent, Tenaga Nasional added 0.37 percent, Top Glove rallied 0.98 percent and IHH Healthcare and Maxis were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks opened higher on Friday and largely remained in the green throughout the session, accelerating into the close.
The Dow surged 453.40 points or 1.39 percent to finish at 33,072.88, while the NASDAQ spiked 161.04 points or 1.24 percent to end at 13,138.72 and the S&P 500 jumped 65.02 points or 1.66 percent to close at 3,974.54. For the week, the Dow rose 1.4 percent, the NASDAQ fell 0.6 percent and the S&P gained 1.6 percent.
The strength on Wall Street reflected optimism about the economy reopening after President Joe Biden doubled his goal for the administration of coronavirus vaccines in his first 100 days in office – now aiming for 200 million.
Banking stocks helped lead the way higher after the Federal Reserve announced restrictions on bank holding company dividends and share repurchases will end for most firms after June 30.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said personal income plunged by 7.1 percent in February after skyrocketing 10.1 percent in January. Also, the University of Michigan said U.S. consumer sentiment improved more than estimated in March.
Crude oil prices rose sharply Friday on concerns it might take several weeks to dislodge the giant container ship stuck in the Suez Canal. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended up $2.41 or 4.1 percent at $60.97 a barrel.
Malaysia Stock Market Has Firm Lead For Monday’s Trade
2021-03-28 23:30:14
