Malaysia Stock Market May Test Resistance At 1,600 Points

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 30 points or 1.9 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,585-point plateau and it may extend its gains again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests support ahead of key U.S. employment data later in the day. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly higher again on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, telecoms and industrials, while the plantations were mixed.

For the day, the index improved 10.66 points or 0.68 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,585.17 after moving as low as 1,573.90.

Among the actives, Celcomdigi picked up 1.60 percent, while CIMB Group and Telekom Malaysia both added 0.61 percent, Gamuda soared 2.05 percent, IHH Healthcare was up 0.14 percent, IOI Corporation slumped 1.05 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 0.59 percent, Maxis advanced 0.85 percent, Maybank improved 0.77 percent, MISC rose 0.53 percent, MRDIY sank 0.60 percent, Nestle Malaysia jumped 1.48 percent, Petronas Chemicals rallied 1.62 percent, Petronas Dagangan dipped 0.10 percent, Petronas Gas surged 2.53 percent, Press Metal perked 0.20 percent, Public Bank gathered 0.23 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.31 percent, Sime Darby lost 0.45 percent, SD Guthrie accelerated 1.64 percent, Sunway climbed 0.90 percent, Tenaga Nasional increased 0.73 percent, YTL Corporation strengthened 1.03 percent, YTL Power spiked 1.89 percent and 99 Speed Mart Retail, Axiata, PPB Group, QL Resources and Hong Leong Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened higher, although the Dow quickly turned lower and spent the rest of the day in the red.

The Dow stumbled 125.65 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 44,747.63, while the NASDAQ advanced 99.66 points or 0.51 percent to close at 19.971.99 and the S&P 500 added 22.09 points or 0.36 percent to end at 6,083.57.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report later today.

Traders will be watching the numbers, which could affect the Federal Reserve's outlook for interest rates.

A day ahead of the monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week.

Crude oil saw further downside on Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump repeated his pledge to increase U.S. oil production in an effort to lower prices. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery slid $0.42 or 0.6 percent to a one-month low of $70.61 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will provide December numbers for industrial production later today; in November, production was up 3.6 percent on year.