Win Streak May End For Malaysia Stock Market

The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, picking up more than 20 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,460-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky ahead of key inflation data from the United States. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index improved 11.03 points or 0.76 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,462.03 after moving as low as 1,446.71.

Among the actives, Axiata jumped 1.14 percent, while Celcomdigi skyrocketed 3.50 percent, CIMB Group improved 0.89 percent, Dialog Group soared 2.25 percent, Genting climbed 0.93 percent, Genting Malaysia accelerated 1.56 percent, IHH Healthcare picked up 0.17 percent, IOI Corporation spiked 1.71 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong was up 0.09 percent, Maxis strengthened 1.02 percent, Maybank rose 0.33 percent, MISC and Tenaga Nasional both gained 0.42 percent, MRDIY surged 2.88 percent, Petronas Chemicals gathered 0.29 percent, PPB Group sank 0.36 percent, Press Metal perked 0.40 percent, Public Bank collected 0.72 percent, RHB Capital and AMMB Holdings both advanced 0.53 percent, Sime Darby dropped 0.90 percent, Sime Darby Plantations added 0.44 percent, Telekom Malaysia rallied 1.19 percent and Westports Holdings increased 0.57 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened flat on Wednesday before heading south shortly thereafter; they made back some ground as the day progressed but still finished solidly in the red.

The Dow stumbled 191.13 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 35,123.36, while the NASDAQ dropped 162.31 points or 1.17 percent to close at 13.722.02 and the S&P 500 sank 31.67 points or 0.70 percent to end at 4,467.71.

The lower close on Wall Street came as traders remained cautious ahead of the release of a key report on consumer price inflation later today.

Traders will be looking for the report to reinforce expectations that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged next month; CME Group’s FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 86.5 percent chance the Fed will keep rates steady in September.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Wednesday, extending recent gains as output cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia continued to raise concerns about supply. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery jumped $1.48 pr 1.8 percent to $84.40 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will see unemployment data for June later today, with forecasts suggesting that the jobless rate will hold steady at 3.5 percent.