Malaysia Bourse May Test Resistance At 1,500 Points

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had dropped more than 25 points or 1.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,490-point plateau and it's expected to add to its winnings on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were solidly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the plantations and telecoms.

For the day, the index picked up 2.74 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 1,487.87 after trading between 1,484.21 and 1,489.00.

Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 1.38 percent, while CIMB Group and Sime Darby both jumped 0.87 percent, Dialog Group spiked 1.18 percent, Digi.com surged 3.02 percent, Genting soared 1.46 percent, Genting Malaysia gained 0.36 percent, IHH Healthcare skidded 1.16 percent, INARI added 0.38 percent, IOI Corporation perked 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.09 percent, Maybank collected 0.46 percent, Maxis rose 0.27 percent, MISC sank 0.41 percent, MRDIY plummeted 3.43 percent, PPB Group fell 0.11 percent, Press Metal climbed 0.61 percent, Public Bank and Sime Darby Plantations both were up 0.23 percent, RHB Capital advanced 0.52 percent, Telekom Malaysia lost 0.19 percent, Tenaga Nasional retreated 1.36 percent and Petronas Chemicals, Petronas Dagangan, Petronas Gas and Nestle Malaysia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and mostly improved as the session progressed.

The Dow jumped 268.91 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 33,973.01, while the NASDAQ spiked 189.04 points or 1.76 percent to close at 10,931.67 and the S&P 500 advanced 50.36 points or 1.28 percent to end at 3,969.61.

The strength on Wall Street reflected optimism about the highly anticipated consumer price inflation report due later today.

The report is expected to show a slowdown in the annual rate of consumer price growth and could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday on hopes for a global economic recovery and the possible impact of sanctions on Russian crude output. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for February jumped by $2.29 or 3.1 percent at $77.41 a barrel, rising for a fifth straight session.