Win Streak May Continue For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering almost 30 points or 2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,490-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mostly higher and the U.S. bourses were solidly in the green and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financials, plantations and telecoms, although the glove makers were down.

For the day, the index jumped 20.49 points or 1.39 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,491.20 after trading as low as 1,472.39. Volume was 2.827 billion shares worth 1.813 billion ringgit. There were 653 gainers and 264 decliners.

Among the actives, Axiata soared 5.17 percent, while CIMB Group advanced 1.15 percent, Dialog Group skyrocketed 5.63 percent, Digi.com jumped 2.56 percent, Genting strengthened 2.34 percent, Genting Malaysia improved 1.73 percent, Hartalega Holdings slumped 2.17 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.31 percent, INARI accelerated 3.24 percent, IOI Corporation and PPB Group both were up 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gathered 1.38 percent, Maybank gained 0.57 percent, Maxis spiked 4.32 percent, MISC perked 1.26 percent, MRDIY rose 0.45 percent, Petronas Chemicals rallied 3.12 percent, Press Metal surged 5.46 percent, Public Bank collected 0.87 percent, RHB Capital added 1.03 percent, Sime Darby was up 0.43 percent, Sime Darby Plantations increased 1.44 percent, Telekom Malaysia climbed 2.33 percent, Tenaga Nasional improved 0.37 percent and Top Glove tumbled 2.51 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages shook off early weakness on Thursday, quickly moving into positive territory and accelerating into the close.

The Dow jumped 332.04 points or 1.03 percent to finish at 32,529.63, while the NASDAQ climbed 130.17 points or 1.08 percent to end at 12,162.59 and the S&P 500 improved 48.82 points or 1.21 percent to close at 4,072.43.

The early weakness on Wall Street followed the release of a Commerce Department report showing a continued contraction in U.S. economic activity in the second quarter of 2022, putting the U.S. in a technical recession..

However, economists cast doubt on whether the economy is actually in a recession, citing other indicators indicating continued growth and persistent strength in the labor market.

The data may have still added to optimism that the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of its interest rate hikes at future meetings, contributing to the turnaround on Wall Street.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Thursday as worries about the outlook for energy demand due to slowing global economic growth weighed on prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $0.84 or 0.9 percent at $96.42 a barrel.