Malaysia Stock Market May Extend Friday's Gains

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Monday's holiday for Thaipusam, the Malaysia stock market had ended the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than 40 points or 2.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,740-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on decent economic data, although weakness among the oil stocks may limit the upside. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, telecoms and industrials.

For the day, the index added 9.99 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 1,740.88 after trading between 1,732.62 and 1,744.82. Among the actives, AMMB Holdings perked 0.16 percent, while Axiata spiked 2.68 percent, CIMB Group vaulted 1.30 percent, Gamuda stumbled 2.86 percent, Hong Leong Bank surged 6.09 percent, IHH Healthcare expanded 1.13 percent, Maxis improved 0.79 percent, Maybank rallied 1.37 percent, MISC climbed 1.01 percent, Nestle Malaysia declined 1.75 percent, Petronas Chemicals accelerated 2.54 percent, Petronas Dagangan jumped 1.83 percent, Petronas Gas gained 0.66 percent, PPB Group advanced 0.89 percent, Press Metal tumbled 2.07 percent, Public Bank collected 0.41 percent, QL Resources tanked 1.95 percent, RHB Bank soared 4.32 percent, Sime Darby dropped 0.92 percent, SD Guthrie added 0.69 percent, Sunway increased 0.70 percent, Telekom Malaysia rose 0.38 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.43 percent, YTL Corporation retreated 1.89 percent, YTL Power slumped 1.52 percent and IOI Corporation, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Celcomdigi, 99 Speed Mart Retail and MRDIY were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened flat but quickly tracked to the upside and spent the balance of the day in the green.

The Dow jumped 515.19 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 49,407.66, while the NASDAQ added 130.29 points or 0.56 percent to end at 23,592.11 and the S&P 500 gained 37.41 points or 0.54 percent to close at 6,976.44.

The strength on Wall Street followed the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing manufacturing activity in the U.S. unexpectedly expanded for the first time in 12 months in January.

The markets saw continued strength after President Donald Trump announced that he has reached a trade deal with India.

But traders seemed somewhat reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Monday as signs of de-escalation of the U.S.-Iran conflict reduced supply-output concerns in the Middle East, taking off the geopolitical risk premium. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down $3.28 or 5.03 percent at $61.93 per barrel.