Malaysia Stock Market May See Continued Strength

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last seven trading days since the end of the four-day losing streak in which it had dropped more than a dozen points or 0.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,423-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on solid economic and earnings news. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, weakness from the telecoms and a mixed picture from the plantation stocks.

For the day, the index rose 5.05 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 1,431.04 after trading between 1,421.78 and 1,431.23.

Among the actives, Axiata advanced 0.99 percent, while CIMB Group strengthened 1.18 percent, Digi.com dropped 0.90 percent, Genting dipped 0.21 percent, Genting Malaysia shed 0.72 percent, IHH Healthcare rallied 1.03 percent, INARI sank 0.84 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong retreated 2.09 percent, Maxis jumped 1.55 percent, Maybank collected 0.34 percent, MISC added 0.55 percent, MRDIY skidded 1.26 percent, Petronas Chemicals tumbled 2.49 percent, PPB Group rose 0.12 percent, Press Metal fell 0.59 percent, Public Bank surged 2.56 percent, RHB Capital eased 0.18 percent, Sime Darby Plantations climbed 1.15 percent, Telekom Malaysia lost 0.60 percent and Tenaga Nasional, IOI Corporation, AMMB Holdings, Dialog Group, Sime Darby, Petronas Gas and QL Resources were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained solidly in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow surged 546.68 points or 1.65 percent to finish at 33,674.38, while the NASDAQ rallied 269.01 points or 2.25 percent to end at 12,235.41 and the S&P 500 jumped 75.03 points or 1.85 percent to close at 4,136.25. For the week, the NASDAQ rose 0.1 percent, the S&P slid 0.8 percent and the Dow fell 1.2 percent.

The rally on Wall Street partly reflected bargain hunting, as traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness.

Regional banks helped lead the recovery after ongoing concerns about turmoil in the sector weighed on the markets in recent sessions, while strong quarterly results from tech giant Apple (AAPL) fueled gains on the NASDAQ.

Traders also reacted to the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report for April, which showed that job growth far exceeded estimates and the unemployment rate ticked lower.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Friday on easing recession concerns in some of the world's major economies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $2.78 or 4.1 percent at $71.34 a barrel but was down more than 7 percent for the week.