Malaysia Stock Market Poised To Extend Thursday’s Gains

The Malaysia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 20 points or 1.2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,600-point plateau and it’s looking at another green light for Friday’s trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with support expected especially from oil and technology stocks. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financials and plantations, weakness from the glove makers and a mixed picture from the telecoms.

For the day, the index advanced 11.33 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 1,597.31 after trading between 1,590.17 and 1,600.60. Volume was 2.488 billion shares worth 2.193 billion ringgit. There were 584 gainers and 354 decliners.

Among the actives, Axiata improved 1.15 percent, while CIMB Group and Digi.com both gained 0.78 percent, Dialog Group sank 0.80 percent, Genting rose 0.44 percent, Genting Malaysia strengthened 1.36 percent, Hartalega Holdings dropped 0.90 percent, IHH Healthcare advanced 1.22 percent, INARI soared 2.89 percent, IOI Corporation accelerated 1.96 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rallied 1.67 percent, Maybank collected 0.67 percent, Maxis lost 0.52 percent, MISC perked 0.26 percent, MRDIY added 0.87 percent, Petronas Chemicals jumped 1.81 percent, PPB Group fell 0.35 percent, Press Metal spiked 2.04 percent, RHB Capital surged 3.00 percent, Sime Darby increased 0.86 percent, Sime Darby Plantations gathered 0.58 percent, Telekom Malaysia tumbled 1.98 percent, Tenaga Nasional climbed 1.24 percent, Top Glove shed 0.59 percent and Public Bank was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened modestly higher on Thursday but accelerated throughout the day, finishing near session highs.

The Dow surged 614.46 points or 1.85 percent to finish at 33,916.39, while the NASDAQ soared 382.59 points or 3.06 percent to close at 12,871.53 and the S&P 500 spiked 103.54 points or 2.47 percent to end at 4,287.50.

The rally on Wall Street came as upbeat earnings news overshadowed a disappointing report on the U.S. economy; results from companies like Meta (FB), Qualcomm (QCOM), McDonald’s (MCD), Merck (MRK), and Eli Lilly (LLY) led the way.

Meanwhile, traders seemed to shrug off a report from the Commerce Department showing U.S. economic activity unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter of 2022.

Some traders may have interpreted the data as a sign the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates as aggressively as currently expected.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Thursday amid concerns over supply due to the possible impact of sanctions on Russia’s crude oil production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $3.34 or 3.3 percent at $105.36 a barrel.