Malaysia Bourse May Challenge Resistance At 1,600 Points

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, gathering almost 15 points or 0.9 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,590-point plateau and it may see continued strength on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. bourses finished solidly higher and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Friday as gains from the financials and telecoms were offset by profit taking among the plantation stocks.

For the day, the index gained 9.29 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 1,589.59 after trading between 1,581.59 and 1,590.56.

Among the actives, Axiata climbed 0.35 percent, while Celcomdigi and IOI Corporation both dropped 0.49 percent, CIMB Group and QL Resources both rose 0.15 percent, Genting advanced 0.22 percent, Genting Malaysia strengthened 0.38 percent, IHH Healthcare retreated 0.63 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong sank 0.43 percent, Maxis tumbled 1.64 percent, Maybank added 0.20 percent, MISC rallied 1.87 percent, MRDIY jumped1.20 percent, Petronas Chemicals eased 0.15 percent, PPB Group perked 0.13 percent, Press Metal fell 0.19 percent, Public Bank collected 0.49 percent, RHB Capital declined 0.55 percent, Sime Darby and Tenaga Nasional both spiked 2.50 percent, Sime Darby Plantations was up 0.01 percent, Telekom Malaysia accelerated 2.12 percent, YTL Corporation soared 3.16 percent and YTL Power surged 3.90 percent.

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

The Dow surged 449.98 points or 1.18 percent to finish at 38,675.68, while the NASDAQ rallied 315.33 points or 1.99 percent to close at 16,156.33 and the S&P 500 advanced 63.59 points or 1.26 percent to end at 5,127.79. For the week, the S&P 500 climbed 0.6 percent, the Dow added 1.1 percent and the NASDAQ jumped 1.4 percent.

The rally on Wall Street followed the release of a closely watched Labor Department showing employment in the U.S. increased less than expected in April. The data helped generate optimism about the outlook for interest rates following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting earlier in the week.

Also, a separate report released by the Institute for Supply Management showed U.S. service sector activity unexpectedly contracted in April.

Oil prices fell on Friday, pushing the most active futures contract to their biggest weekly decline in about three months on concerns about the outlook for global oil demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down by $0.84 or 1.06 percent at $78.11 a barrel.