The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 15 points or 1 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,600-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns for overall economic growth amid the latest coronavirus wave. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The KLCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the financial shares and plantation stocks were capped by weakness from the glove makers.
For the day, the index climbed 14.15 points or 0.89 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,597.63 after moving as low as 1,579.18. Volume was 5.915 billion shares worth 3.240 billion ringgit. There were 707 decliners and 374 gainers.
Among the actives, Axiata and Maxis both soared 3.46 percent, while CIMB Group rose 0.61 percent, Digi.com advanced 1.12 percent, Genting gained 0.78 percent, Genting Malaysia fell 0.32 percent, Hartalega Holdings plummeted 3.33 percent, IHH Healthcare gathered 1.59 percent, IOI Corporation spiked 3.05 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong jumped 2.38 percent, Maybank collected 0.48 percent, MISC surged 4.29 percent, MRDIY tumbled 1.02 percent, Petronas Chemicals improved 0.50 percent, PPB Group added 0.87 percent, Press Metal accelerated 2.93 percent, Public Bank perked 1.22 percent, RHB Capital increased 0.55 percent, Sime Darby Plantations climbed 2.31 percent, Telekom Malaysia was up 0.17 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.39 percent, Top Glove plunged 2.45 percent and Dialog Group and Sime Darby were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild consolidation as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and largely stayed that was throughout the session, ending with modest losses.
The Dow shed 68.93 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 35,031.07, while the NASDAQ sank 87.69 points or 0.57 percent to close at 15,286.64 and the S&P 500 fell 5.96 points or 0.13 percent to end at 4,514.07.
The weakness on Wall Street partly reflected concerns the rapid spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus may slow the global economic recovery.
Worries about the Federal Reserve scaling back its asset purchases also contributed to the selling pressure. The lower close by stocks also came after the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book said U.S. economic growth downshifted slightly to a moderate pace in early July through August.
The Beige Book also said inflation was reported to be steady at an elevated pace, as half of the districts characterized the pace of price increases as strong, while half described it as moderate.
Crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday as prices rose on reports of slow progress in the restoration of crude output in the Gulf of Mexico. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up $0.95 or 1.4 percent at $69.30 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Win Streak May End For Malaysia Stock Market
2021-09-08 23:30:14
