Malaysia Bourse May Reclaim 1,500-Point Level

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, adding almost 10 points or 0.6 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,500-point plateau and it's expected to add to its winnings on Monday.

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

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

For the day, the index rose 6.37 points or 0.43 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,495.03 after moving as low as 1,488.05.

Among the actives, Axiata skidded 1.03 percent, while CIMB Group rose 0.52 percent, Dialog Group and Hong Leong Bank both rose 0.39 percent, Digi.com advanced 0.97 percent, Genting gained 0.41 percent, Genting Malaysia climbed 1.07 percent, IHH Healthcare was up 0.17 percent, INARI slumped 1.12 percent, IOI Corporation and Petronas Dagangan both strengthened 1.27 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gathered 0.82 percent, Maybank collected 0.68 percent, Maxis perked 0.26 percent, MISC gained 0.55 percent, MRDIY shed 0.51 percent, Petronas Chemicals added 0.60 percent, PPB Group sank 0.57 percent, Press Metal spiked 1.80 percent, Public Bank added 0.46 percent, RHB Capital improved 0.87 percent, Sime Darby jumped 1.76 percent, Sime Darby Plantations tumbled 1.37 percent, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.39 percent and Tenaga Nasional increased 0.85 percent.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages shook off early weakness on Friday, climbing into the green for good by the afternoon.

The Dow gained 112.61 points of 0.33 percent to finish at 34,302.61, while the NASDAQ jumped 78.06 points or 0.71 percent to end at 11,079.16 and the S&P 500 rose 15.92 points or 0.40 percent to close at 3,999.09.

For the week, the NASDAQ surged 4.8 percent, the S&P gained 2.7 percent and the Dow rose 2.0 percent.

The initial weakness on Wall Street came as traders looked to cash in on some the recent strength in the markets amid a negative reaction to earnings news from several big-name financial companies.

The recovery came as upbeat consumer sentiment and inflation expectations data helped offset the early negative sentiment.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Friday on optimism for less aggressive rate hikes in the United States after inflation slowed in December. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for February ended higher by $1.47 or 1.9 percent at $79.86 a barrel.