Win Streak May Continue For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, collecting more than 30 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,435-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic ahead of the FOMC rate decision later today. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, plantations and industrials. For the day, the index advanced 12.10 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 1,436.79 after trading between 1,425.28 and 1,437.81.

Among the actives, Axiata skidded 0.77 percent, while Celcomdigi tanked 2.03 percent, CIMB Group strengthened 1.50 percent, Dialog Group gained 0.45 percent, Genting added 0.47 percent, Genting Malaysia gathered 0.39 percent, IOI Corporation and MISC both advanced 0.98 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong perked 0.34 percent, Maxis sank 0.49 percent, Maybank collected 0.67 percent, MRDIY dropped 0.69 percent, Petronas Chemicals surged 4.00 percent, Press Metal soared 2.91 percent, Public Bank jumped 1.76 percent, RHB Capital rallied 1.80 percent, Sime Darby spiked 1.89 percent, Sime Darby Plantations rose 0.44 percent, Telekom Malaysia climbed 1.00 percent, Tenaga Nasional was up 0.11 percent, Westports Holdings tumbled 1.96 percent and IHH Healthcare and PPB Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened flat on Tuesday but moved generally higher as the day progressed and ended in the green.

The Dow added 26.83 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 35,438.07, while the NASDAQ climbed 85.69 points or 0.61 percent to close at 14,144.56 and the S&P 500 rose 12.82 points or 0.28 percent to end at 4,567.46.

The higher close on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to the latest batch of earnings news from big-name companies such as 3M (MMM), chemical giant Dow Inc. (DOW) and General Electric (GE).

Traders also remain optimistic about the Federal Reserve wrapping up its recent series of interest rate hikes ahead of today's monetary policy decision. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by another 25 basis points, but traders are hopeful the rate hike will be the last following recent encouraging inflation data.

In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board released a report showing U.S. consumer confidence improved more than expected in July.

Crude oil futures settled notably higher Tuesday on optimism about increased Chinese demand after policymakers pledged support to shore up growth in the world's second largest economy. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September gained $0.89 or 1.1 percent at $79.63 a barrel, the highest settlement since mid-April.