Malaysia Bourse Likely To Remain Rangebound

The Malaysia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had slipped almost 6 points or 0.4 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,450-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive thanks to encouraging economic data.
The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index slipped 3.96 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 1,449.58 after trading between 1,445.31 and 1,455.09.

Among the actives, Axiata rallied 1.21 percent, while Celcomdigi improved 0.45 percent, CIMB Group dipped 0.20 percent, Genting shed 0.47 percent, IHH Healthcare perked 0.17 percent, IOI Corporation lost 0.24 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 0.84 percent, Maxis jumped 1.44 percent, Maybank was up 0.11 percent, MISC and Petronas Chemicals both slumped 0.69 percent, MRDIY gained 0.68 percent, Press Metal sank 0.81 percent, Public Bank collected 0.72 percent, RHB Capital added 0.71 percent, Sime Darby gathered 0.46 percent, Sime Darby Plantations climbed 0.92 percent, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.20 percent, Tenaga Nasional rose 0.20 percent and Westports Holdings, PPB Group, Dialog Group, Genting Malaysia and AMMB Holdings were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened solidly higher on Thursday and remained in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow surged 331.58 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 34,907.11, while the NASDAQ spiked 112.47 points or 0.81 percent to end at 13,926.05 and the S&P 500 improved 37.66 points or 0.84 percent to close at 4,505.10.

The strength on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to a slew of U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing retail sales in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of August.

Also, the Labor Department said producer prices in the U.S. increased by more than expected in month of August. However, the data does not raise concerns about inflation, as the increase in prices was largely due to a spike in energy prices.

Oil prices rose sharply on Thursday as concerns over the outlook for crude supplies outweighed worries about energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended higher by $1.64 or 1.9 percent at $90.16 a barrel, the highest settlement in almost 10 months.