Malaysia Shares Tipped To Open To The Upside

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting almost 15 points or 1 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,540-point plateau and it's got another green light for Thursday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over earnings, with tech shares likely to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks and industrials.

For the day, the index rose 2.84 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 1,541.48 after trading between 1,533.06 and 1,542.89.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail rallied 2.16 percent, while AMMB Holdings was up 0.19 percent, Axiata declined 1.13 percent, Celcomdigi fell 0.52 percent, CIMB Group collected 0.89 percent, Gamuda gained 0.55 percent, IHH Healthcare jumped 1.46 percent, IOI Corporation lost 0.53 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong improved 0.94 percent, Maybank was down 0.31 percent, MISC added 0.64 percent, MRDIY shed 0.61 percent, Nestle Malaysia dipped 0.40 percent, Petronas Chemicals stumbled 2.54 percent, Petronas Dagangan surged 5.31 percent, Petronas Gas rose 0.44 percent, PPB Group climbed 1.01 percent, Press Metal retreated 1.48 percent, Public Bank strengthened 1.42 percent, QL Resources slipped 0.48 percent, RHB Bank advanced 0.97 percent, Sime Darby accelerated 1.87 percent, SD Guthrie sank 0.63 percent, Sunway perked 0.21 percent, Telekom Malaysia eased 0.15 percent, Tenaga Nasional dropped 0.75 percent, YTL Corporation tumbled 1.95 percent, YTL Power slumped 0.94 percent and Maxis was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Wednesday but quickly turned higher and spent the balance of the session in the green.

The Dow improved 81.38 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 44,193.12, while the NASDAQ rallied 252.87 points or 1.21 percent to end at 21,169.42 and the S&P 500 gained 45.87 points or 0.73 percent to close at 6,345.06.

Apple (AAPL) helped to lead the markets higher following reports the company will announce plans to invest $100 billion to expand its U.S. operations and increase its total investment in the U.S. over the next four years to $600 billion.

Stocks also benefitted from strong earnings news from companies like McDonald's (MCD), which reported second quarter results that exceeded estimates on both the top and bottom lines. Shopify (SHOP) also beat the street.

On the other hand, Super Micro Computer (SMCI), social media platform Snap (SNAP) and Disney (DIS) reported mixed third quarter results.

Crude oil lost early gains on Wednesday as Russia faces a threat of U.S. sanctions on its oil exports after August 8 if it fails to end its attempt to annex Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $0.96 or 1.47 percent at $64.20 per barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will release June data for industrial production later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 1.0 percent on year - up from 0.3 percent in May.