Rebound Anticipated For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 7 points or 0.5 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,420-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, thanks to encouraging economic and earnings news. The European and U.S. markets were up sharply and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Friday as losses from the financial shares and glove makers were tempered by mixed performances from the plantations and telecoms.

For the day, the index dipped 1.62 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 1,418.44 after trading between 1,415.46 and 1,420.06. Volume was 2.051 billion shares worth 1.060 billion ringgit. There were 425 decliners and 388 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata gained 0.38 percent, while CIMB Group retreated 0.98 percent, Dialog Group tumbled 1.49 percent, Digi.com added 0.59 percent, Genting spiked 2.22 percent, Genting Malaysia climbed 1.06 percent, Hartalega Holdings plunged 2.81 percent, IHH Healthcare eased 0.16 percent, INARI surged 5.00 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong was up 0.10 percent, Maybank sank 0.35 percent, Maxis slumped 0.30 percent, MISC rose 0.30 percent, Petronas Chemicals advanced 1.00 percent, PPB Group dropped 0.50 percent, Press Metal plummeted 5.02 percent, Sime Darby soared 2.30 percent, Sime Darby Plantations fell 0.24 percent, Telekom Malaysia jumped 1.91 percent, Tenaga Nasional declined 1.11 percent, Top Glove tanked 2.45 percent and MRDIY, Public Bank, RHB Capital, IOI Corporation, Nestle and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained firmly in the green throughout the session.

The Dow surged 658.09 points or 2.15 percent to finish at 31,288.26, while the NASDAQ spiked 201.24 points or 1.79 percent to end at 11,452.42 and the S&P 500 jumped 72.78 points or 1.92 percent to close at 3,863.16.

For the week, the NASDAQ slumped by 1.6 percent, the S&P 500 slid by 0.9 percent and the Dow edged down by 0.2 percent.

A positive reaction to the latest earnings news contributed to the rally on Wall Street, fueled by the likes of Citigroup (C) and UnitedHealth (UNH), which exceeded expectations.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales jumped more than expected last month. Also, the University of Michigan unexpectedly showed a modest improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment in July. And the Labor Department said U.S. import prices crept up much less than expected in June.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Friday, buoyed by reports that an increase in Saudi oil output is unlikely for now. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $1.81 or 1.9 percent at $97.59 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed nearly 7 percent in the week.