Continued Support Anticipated For Malaysia Shares

Ahead of Thursday’s holiday for Nuzul Al’Quran, the Malaysia stock market had bounced higher again – one session after snapping the three-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 25 points or 1.6 percent. The Kuala Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,610-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to solid earnings news and rising crude oil prices. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the plantations, losses from the glove makers and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index added 1.82 points or 0.11 percent to finish at the daily high of 1608.50 after trading as low as 1,597.79. Volume was 6.586 billion shares worth 3.855 billion ringgit. There were 586 decliners and 457 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 1.29 percent, while CIMB Group jumped 1.45 percent, Dialog Group shed 0.32 percent, Digi.com sank 0.71 percent, Genting spiked 3.27 percent, Genting Malaysia accelerated 3.12 percent, Hartalega Holdings plunged 2.80 percent, IHH Healthcare gathered 0.75 percent, IOI Corporation advanced 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong surged 4.59 percent, Maybank dipped 0.12 percent, Maxis skidded 1.28 percent, MISC gained 0.15 percent, Petronas Chemicals soared 3.31 percent, PPB Group climbed 0.86 percent, Press Metal perked 0.56 percent, RHB Capital fell 0.19 percent, Sime Darby rallied 1.77 percent, Sime Darby Plantations lost 0.22 percent, Supermax plummeted 3.77 percent, Telekom Malaysia dropped 0.34 percent, Tenaga Nasional added 0.20 percent, Top Glove tanked 1.90 percent and Public Bank and Hong Leong Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive after the major averages saw wild fluctuations on Thursday before finally ending firmly in the green.

The Dow jumped 239.98 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 34,060 .36, while the NASDAQ added 31.52 points or 0.22 percent to end at 14,082.55 and the S&P 500 rose 28.29 points or 0.68 percent to close at 4,211.47.

The higher close on Wall Street came following upbeat earnings news from tech giants like Qualcomm (QCOM), Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB).

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped to a new pandemic-era low last week. Also, the Commerce Department noted an acceleration in the pace of U.S. economic growth in the first three months of 2021.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Thursday amid optimism about the outlook for energy demand following a drop in U.S. petroleum product supplies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended up by $1.15 or 1.8 percent at $65.01 a barrel.