Malaysia Bourse May Hand Back Friday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one day after halting the three-day winning streak in which it had collected more than a dozen points or 0.8 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,600-point plateau although it may head south again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with geopolitical concerns in the Middle East likely to weigh. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished sharply higher n Friday as the telecoms, financials and industrials were mostly in the green.

For the day, the index climbed 17.28 points or 1.09 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,600.13 after trading as low as 1,585.06. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail jumped 1.61 percent, while Axiata increased 1.14 percent, Celcomdigi was up 0.27 percent, CIMB Group soared 1.80 percent, Gamuda and Press Metal both rallied 1.62 percent, IHH Healthcare strengthened 1.40 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong sank 0.70 percent, Maxis gained 0.83 percent, Maybank advanced 1.02 percent, MISC gathered 0.68 percent, MRDIY lost 0.64 percent, Nestle Malaysia surged 2.51 percent, Petronas Chemicals added 0.93 percent, Petronas Dagangan accelerated 1.68 percent, Petronas Gas shed 0.65 percent, PPB Group stumbled 1.68 percent, Public Bank and YTL Power both rose 0.71 percent, QL Resources fell 0.23 percent, RHB Bank dropped 0.76 percent, Sime Darby plummeted 5.58 percent, SD Guthrie collected 0.58 percent, Sunway perked 0.38 percent, Telekom Malaysia skyrocketed 10.11 percent, Tenaga Nasional climbed 1.21 percent, YTL Corporation improved 1.15 percent and AMMB Holdings and IOI Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened mixed on Friday and closed on opposite sides of the line.

The Dow dropped 273.78 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 45,834.22, while the NASDAQ gained 98.03 points or 0.44 percent to close at 22,141.10 and the S&P 500 dipped 3.18 points or 0.05 percent to end at 6,584.29.

For the week, the NASDAQ surged 2.0 percent, while the S&P 500 shot up 1.6 percent and the Dow jumped 1.0 percent.

The mixed performance on Wall Street came as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement next Wednesday. With recent data showing relatively subdued inflation and a weakening labor market, the Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by at least a quarter point.

Traders will pay close attention to the Fed's accompanying statement as well as Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting comments for clues about the likelihood of more rate cuts. Currently, the Fed is expected to lower rates by another 25 basis points at both its October and December meetings, although Powell is likely to say future rate cuts will depend on incoming economic data.

Crude oil has moved higher Friday as concerns over supply side disruptions linger, with the Russia-Ukraine war intensifying and a new conflict brewing in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.31 or 0.50 percent at $62.68 per barrel.