Malaysia Stock Market May Be Stuck In Neutral

The Malaysia stock market had finished higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 30 points or 2 percent along the way. The Kuala Composite Index now rests just above the 1,590-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat ahead of key inflation data from the United States later in the day. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

The KLCI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the telecoms and financials, while the plantations were mixed and the glove makers were soft.

For the day, the index added 16.08 points or 1.02 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,593.90 after moving as low as 1,576.77. Volume was 8.613 billion shares worth 7.339 billion ringgit. There were 555 gainers and 491 decliners.

Among the actives, Axiata soared 5.14 percent, while CIMB Group collected 0.24 percent, Dialog Group climbed 2.37 percent, Digi.com rose 0.70 percent, Genting tanked 1.63 percent, Genting Malaysia gathered 1.82 percent, Hap Seng Consolidated surged 6.33 percent, Hartalega Holdings plummeted 2.49 percent, Hong Leong Financial skyrocketed 7.29 percent, IHH Healthcare gained 0.77 percent, IOI Corporation perked 1.45 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong shed 0.27 percent, Maxis spiked 4.55 percent, MISC accelerated 2.78 percent, Petronas Chemicals rallied 2.13 percent, PPB Group retreated 1.07 percent, Press Metal lost 0.19 percent, Public Bank jumped 2.40 percent, RHB Capital skidded 1.34 percent, Sime Darby advanced 1.32 percent,
Sime Darby Plantations added 1.11 percent, Supermax plunged 1.80 percent, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.17 percent, Tenaga Nasional dipped 0.10 percent, Top Glove tumbled 1.54 percent and Maybank was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is conflicted as the Dow and S&P both opened in the green on Friday and finished the same way, while the NASDAQ saw a soft start and ended barely lower.

The Dow climbed 141.59 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 34,464.64, while the NASDAQ eased 1.72 points or 0.01 percent to close at 13,736.28 and the S&P 500 rose 4.89 points or 0.12 percent to end at 4,200.88.

The lackluster performance came as traders continued to look ahead to a highly anticipated reading on inflation later today. The inflation reading is said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve and could have a significant impact on the outlook for monetary policy.

Traders were also digesting a report from the Labor Department showing weekly jobless claims once again fell to a new pandemic-era low. The continued decrease in jobless claims paints a positive picture of the labor market but also raised concerns that the Fed will move closer to tapering its asset purchases in the near future.

Also, the Commerce Department showed an unexpected pullback in durable goods orders in April, and a separate report noted that the pace of U.S. economic growth in the first quarter was unrevised from the advance estimate.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Thursday, extending gains to a fifth straight session on following a drop in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended up $0.64 or 1 percent at $66.85 a barrel.