Malaysia Shares May Challenge Resistance At 1,400 Points

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has tracked higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering almost a dozen points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,385-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index gained 10.69 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 1,386.77 after trading between 1,377.61 and 1,390.55.

Among the actives, Axiata plummeted 3.96 percent, while Celcomdigi gathered 0.47 percent, CIMB Group strengthened 1.41 percent, Dialog Group was up 0.14 percent, Genting climbed 1.22 percent, Genting Malaysia advanced 1.19 percent, IHH Healthcare and Kuala Lumpur Kepong both jumped 1.57 percent, Inari spiked 2.01 percent, IOI Corporation improved 1.33 percent, Maxis added 0.74 percent, Maybank rose 0.12 percent, MISC sank 0.41 percent, MRDIY rallied 1.94 percent, Petronas Chemicals skyrocketed 3.91 percent, PPB Group surged 2.66 percent, Press Metal perked 0.22 percent, Public Bank collected 0.79 percent, RHB Capital was up 0.19 percent, Sime Darby rose 0.50 percent, Sime Darby Plantations soared 2.36 percent, Telekom Malaysia gained 0.60 percent and Tenaga Nasional increased 0.87 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened in the green on Monday and accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow climbed 189.55 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 34,066.33, while the NASDAQ rallied 202.78 points or 1.53 percent to end at 13,461.92 and the S&P 500 gained 40.07 points or 0.93 percent to close at 4,338.93.

The strength on Wall Street comes as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

The Fed is widely expected to pause its recent interest rate increases but is also likely to reiterate its commitment to bringing inflation down to its 2 percent target.

The Fed's accompanying statement is likely to have a significant impact on the outlook for rates along with some closely watched inflation data due to be released in the coming days.

Oil prices fell sharply Monday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand following a downward revision in the crude oil price forecast by Goldman Sachs. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July tumbled $3.05 or 4.4 percent at $67.12 a barrel, a three-month low.