Win Streak May Continue For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, advancing almost 30 points or 2 percent along the way. 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 Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on bargain hunting, especially among the oil and technology companies. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Friday following gains from the plantations and industrials, while the telecoms were soft and the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index rose 2.12 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 1.512.15 after trading between 1,493.29 and 1,516.25.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail rallied 1.99 percent, while Axiata retreated 1.62 percent, Celcomdigi dipped 0.28 percent, CIMB Group tumbled 2.48 percent, Gamuda spiked 3.59 percent, IHH Healthcare eased 0.14 percent, IOI Corporation improved 0.54 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong accelerated 1.84 percent, Maxis fell 0.31 percent, Maybank perked 0.19 percent, MISC jumped 1.44 percent, MRDIY shed 0.74 percent, Nestle Malaysia slumped 1.57 percent, Petronas Chemicals sank 0.80 percent, PPB Group lost 0.34 percent, Press Metal strengthened 1.42 percent, QL Resources advanced 0.85 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.29 percent, SD Guthrie rose 0.21 percent, Sunway climbed 1.13 percent, Telekom Malaysia dropped 0.92 percent, YTL Corporation surged 6.04 percent, YTL Power soared 4.35 percent and Public Bank, Tenaga Nasional, Sime Darby and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened sharply higher on Friday and continued to accelerate as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 674.62 points or 1.65 percent to finish at 41,488.19, while the NASDAQ rallied 451.07 points or 2.61 percent to close at 17,754.09 and the S&P 500 jumped 117.42 points or 2.13 percent to end at 5,638.94.

For the week, the Dow plunged 3.1 percent, the NASDAQ tumbled 2.4 percent and the S&P 500 slumped 2.3 percent.

The rally on Wall Street saw traders pick up stocks at reduced levels after the steep drop on Thursday, which dragged the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 down to their lowest closing levels in six months - and also sending the S&P into correction territory.

In economic news, the University of Michigan noted a substantial deterioration in consumer sentiment and a surge by inflation expectations in the month of March.

Oil prices climbed higher on Friday as worries about excess supply in the market eased after the U.S. government announced fresh sanctions on Iranian oil and shipping. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April closed higher by $0.63 or 1 percent at $67.18 a barrel.