The Malaysia stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the seven-day winning streak in which it had spiked almost 75 points or 4.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,590-point plateau although it’s tipped to rebound on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on solid earnings news and support from crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets ended sharply higher and the Asian bourses are also tipped to open in the green.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following profit taking among the financials, plantations and telecoms.
For the day, the index fell 7.86 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 1,592.52 after trading between 1,588.63 and 1,601.66. Volume was 4.166 billion shares worth 2.847 billion ringgit. There were 531 decliners and 453 gainers.
Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 2.20 percent, while CIMB Group declined 1.54 percent, Dialog Group added 0.67 percent, Digi.com plunged 3.12 percent, Genting retreated 1.52 percent, Genting Malaysia skidded 1.25 percent, Hartalega Holdings spiked 2.47 percent, IHH Healthcare perked 0.30 percent, IOI Corporation surrendered 1.96 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong shed 0.35 percent, Maybank lost 0.12 percent, MISC gained 0.56 percent, MRDIY sank 0.81 percent, Petronas Chemicals rose 0.11 percent, PPB Group dropped 0.54 percent, Press Metal jumped 1.64 percent, RHB Capital weakened 1.05 percent, Sime Darby tanked 2.53 percent, Sime Darby Plantations plummeted 3.15 percent, Tenaga Nasional dipped 0.10 percent and Top Glove, Telekom Malaysia, Public Bank, Maxis and Petronas Gas were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and stayed comfortably in the green throughout the session.
The Dow surged 534.75 points or 1.56 percent to finish at 34,912.56, while the NASDAQ spiked 251.79 points or 1.73 percent to close at 14,823.43 and the S&P 500 jumped 74.45 points or 1.71 percent to end at 4,438.26.
The rally on Wall Street came as traders reacted positively to a batch of largely upbeat earnings news from several big-name companies, including UnitedHealth (UNH), Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS).
Adding to the positive sentiment, the Labor Department said that first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped below 300,000 for the first time in well over a year last week.
Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday as the International Energy Agency (IEA) lifted its global oil demand forecast. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November rose $0.87 or 1.1 percent at $81.31 a barrel, the highest level since October 2014.
Market Analysis
Renewed Support Anticipated For Malaysia Stock Market
2021-10-14 23:30:14
