Malaysia Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam On Friday

The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, advancing more than 40 points or 2.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,570-point plateau although the rally may stall on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on growing concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourse were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index jumped 18.59 points or 1.20 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,570.10 after moving as low as 1,550.42. Volume was 3.197 billion shares worth 2.621 billion ringgit. There were 567 gainers and 399 decliners.

Among the actives, CIMB Group spiked 2.59 percent, while Dialog Group improved 0.72 percent, Digi.com rallied 2.01 percent, Genting gathered 1.09 percent, Genting Malaysia rose 0.68 percent, Hartalega Holdings tumbled 2.13 percent, IHH Healthcare gained 0.77 percent, INARI climbed 1.52 percent, IOI Corporation accelerated 2.34 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong surged 3.08 percent, Maybank collected 0.59 percent, Maxis increased 0.69 percent, MISC added 1.14 percent, MRDIY sank 0.82 percent, Petronas Chemicals was up 0.33 percent, PPB Group perked 0.61 percent, Press Metal soared 2.93 percent, Public Bank advanced 1.16 percent, RHB Capital jumped 1.77 percent, Sime Darby strengthened 1.81 percent, Sime Darby Plantations skyrocketed 7.10 percent, Telekom Malaysia gained 0.57 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.22 percent, Top Glove was up 0.46 percent and Axiata and Hong Leong Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and the losses accelerated as the session progressed.

The Dow plummeted 526.47 points or 1.47 percent to finish at 35,241.59, while the NASDAQ tumbled 304.73 points or 2.10 percent to close at 14,185.64 and the S&P 500 sank 83.10 points or 1.81 percent to end at 4,504.08.

The sell-off on Wall Street came after the Labor Department said the annual rate of growth in consumer prices accelerated more than expected in January. The data raised concerns that the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates more aggressively to fight elevated inflation.

Selling pressure accelerated after comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard, who indicated he supports raising interest rates by 50 basis points next month as part of a plan to raise rates by a full percentage point by the start of July.

Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday, gaining for a second straight day as falling crude inventories continued to support the commodity’s prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $0.22 or 0.25 percent at $89.88 a barrel.

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