Malaysia Stock Market May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, gathering almost 15 points or 1 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,455-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the telecoms, plantations and financial stocks.

For the day, the index added 8.22 points or 0.57 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,456.26 after moving as low as 1,448.14.

Among the actives, AMMB Holdings rallied 1.50 percent, while Axiata spiked 1.74 percent, CIMB Group collected 0.35 percent, Dialog Group climbed 1.05 percent, Genting strengthened 1.29 percent, Genting Malaysia rose 0.37 percent, IHH Healthcare increased 0.85 percent, IOI Corporation gathered 0.25 percent, Maxis gained 0.53 percent, Maybank fell 0.22 percent, MISC added 0.84 percent, MRDIY dropped 0.67 percent, PPB Group slumped 0.68 percent, Press Metal soared 2.07 percent, Public Bank advanced 0.94 percent, QL Resources surged 2.29 percent, RHB Capital was up 0.18 percent, Sime Darby sank 0.42 percent, Sime Darby Plantations perked 0.22 percent, Telekom Malaysia jumped 1.69 percent, Tenaga Nasional improved 0.91 percent, Westports Holdings plummeted 2.76 percent and Petronas Chemicals, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Celcomdigi and Nestle Malaysia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday, slumped midday but rebounded again to end in the green.

The Dow climbed 158.11 points or 0.43 percent to finish at a fresh record closing high of 37,248.35, while the NASDAQ gained 27.59 points or 0.19 percent to close at 14,761.56 and the S&P 500 rose 12.46 points or 0.26 percent to end at 4,719.55.

Stocks continued to benefit from the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. The Fed left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected, and signaled plans to cut interest rates three times next year.

Adding to optimism the economy is headed toward a soft landing, the Commerce Department released a report showing an unexpected increase in U.S. retail sales in November. Also, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits unexpectedly fell last week.

Oil prices surged on Thursday for the second straight day, lifted by a weak dollar and an upward revision in global oil demand forecast by the International Energy Agency. West Texas International Crude oil futures for January spiked $2.11 or 3 percent at $71.58 a barrel.