Malaysia Shares Tipped To Remain Rangebound On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 15 points or 0.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,585-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement ahead of key U.S. inflation data later today. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished barely lower on Thursday following weakness from the industrials, mixed performances from the financial shares and telecoms and support from the plantations.

For the day, the index eased 0.84 points or 0.05 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,587.07 after peaking at 1,596.16. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail and SD Guthrie both climbed 1.20 percent, while Axiata stumbled 2.27 percent, Celcomdigi rallied 1.37 percent, CIMB Group eased 0.13 percent, Gamuda advanced 1.07 percent, IOI Corporation improved 0.52 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 0.20 percent, Maxis declined 1.40 percent, Maybank jumped 1.63 percent, MISC and Press Metal both retreated 1.58 percent, MRDIY tanked 3.21 percent, Nestle Malaysia soared 2.00 percent, Petronas Chemicals surrendered 2.86 percent, Petronas Dagangan plummeted 3.88 percent, PPB Group skyrocketed 7.93 percent, Public Bank slumped 1.15 percent, QL Resources dropped 0.48 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.46 percent, Sime Darby surged 2.63 percent, Sunway skidded 0.60 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 0.28 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.30 percent, YTL Corporation plunged 3.38 percent, YTL Power tumbled 2.15 percent and AMMB Holdings, IHH Healthcare and Petronas Gas were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday but tracked steadily higher as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow gained 71.67 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 45,636.90, while the NASDAQ climbed 115.02 points or 0.53 percent to end at 21,705.16 and the S&P 500 rose 20.46 points or 0.32 percent to close at 6,501.86.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as traders digested highly anticipated earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA), with the AI darling and market leader reporting reported second quarter results that largely exceeded expectations but data center sales that came in below estimates.

Investors were also looking ahead to the release of the Commerce Department's report later today on personal income and spending in July, which includes the Federal Reserve's preferred readings on consumer price inflation.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew more than estimated in the second quarter of 2025. Also, the Labor Department noted a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Thursday following a drop in U.S. crude inventories a day earlier. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.42 or 0.65 percent at $64.57 per barrel.