Malaysia Stock Market May Add To Its Winnings On Friday

The Malaysia stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the six-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 20 points or 1.5 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,455-point plateau and it’s tipped to open higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over inflation, demand and interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the plantations and industrials were capped by weakness from the financials and a mixed picture from the telecoms.

For the day, the index added 5.29 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 1,455.49 after trading between 1,447.06 and 1,457.02.

Among the actives, Axiata soared 2.56 percent, while CIMB Group sank 0.71 percent, Dialog Group lost 0.44 percent, Digi.com and Sime Darby Plantations both climbed 1.18 percent, Genting dropped 0.84 percent, IHH Healthcare surged 3.15 percent, INARI tumbled 1.65 percent, IOI Corporation improved 0.79 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 0.67 percent, Maybank fell 0.34 percent, Maxis increased 0.51 percent, MISC rose 0.27 percent, MRDIY gathered 0.36 percent, Petronas Chemicals advanced 0.97 percent, PPB Group gained 0.57 percent, RHB Capital collected 0.18 percent, Telekom Malaysia rallied 1.21 percent, Tenaga Nasional jumped 1.29 percent and Genting Malaysia, Sime Darby, Press Metal and Public Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened mixed but trended steadily upward throughout the session, with all finishing firmly in the green.

The Dow surged 341.75 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 33,003.57, while the NASDAQ advanced 83.50 points or 0.73 percent to end at 11,462.98 and the S&P 500 gained 29.96 points or 0.76 percent to close at 3,981.35.

The surge by the Dow reflected a spike by shares of Salesforce (CRM), with the cloud-based software company soaring 11.5 percent on better than expected Q4 results and upbeat guidance.

The markets also rebounded on comments from Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic, who said he strongly favors raising interest rates in only quarter-point increments.

Traders largely shrugged off a continue surge in treasury yields, which followed the release of a Labor Department report unexpectedly showing a modest decline in initial jobless claims last week.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session as optimism about higher demand from China outweighed concerns about inflation and interest rate hikes. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for April settled at $78.16 a barrel, gaining $0.47 or 0.6 percent.