Win Streak May Continue For Malaysia Stock Market

The Malaysia stock market has ticked higher in two straight sessions, collecting almost 2 points or 0.1 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,510-point plateau and it’s tipped to open in the green again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher and is likely to be driven by earnings news. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished barely higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the telecoms and plantations, while the financials were down.

For the day, the index perked 0.13 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 1,513.11 after trading between 1,510.20 and 1,514.05.

Among the actives, Celcomdigi rallied 1.19 percent, while CIMB Group eased 0.16 percent, Genting gained 0.61 percent, Genting Malaysia climbed 0.72 percent, IHH Healthcare dropped 0.49 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong sank 0.36 percent, Maybank and Hong Leong Bank both lost 0.21 percent, MISC slumped 0.68 percent, MRDIY spiked 2.14 percent, Petronas Chemicals declined 0.89 percent, PPB Group jumped 1.09 percent, Press Metal shed 0.22 percent, QL Resources added 0.35 percent, RHB Capital fell 0.18 percent, Sime Darby retreated 1.62 percent, Telekom Malaysia tumbled 2.02 percent, Tenaga Nasional advanced 0.37 percent, YTL Corporation soared 2.28 percent, YTL Power surged 4.39 percent and Sime Darby Plantations, Maxis, Public Bank, Axiata and IOI Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained in the green throughout the day as the Dow and S&P both hit record closing highs.

The Dow climbed 156.00 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 38,677.36, while the NASDAQ rallied 147.65 points or 0.95 percent to end at 15,756.64 and the S&P 500 gained 40.83 points or 0.82 percent to close at 4,995.06.

The strength on Wall Street reflected recent upbeat economic data, which is still seen as a positive even though it reduces the chance of an interest rate cut next month.

Also supporting the markets were solid earnings news from the likes of solar inverter maker Enphase Energy (ENPH) and auto giant Ford (F).

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit widened in December.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday after official data showed a notable drop in gasoline stockpiles last week in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $0.55 at $73.86 a barrel, gaining for a third straight session.