Malaysia Stock Market May Extend Wednesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market rebounded on Wednesday, one day after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had climbed almost 15 points or 1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,615-point plateau and it's looking at additional support on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is firm on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished sharply higher on Wednesday with gains across the board, especially among the financials, plantations and telecoms.

For the day, the index climbed 17.36 points or 1.09 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,615.32 after moving as low as 1,599.60.

Among the actives, Axiata rose 0.77 percent, Celcomdigi accelerated 2.82 percent, CIMB Group strengthened 1.24 percent, Genting gained 0.43 percent, Genting Malaysia rose 0.40 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.48 percent, IOI Corporation advanced 1.09 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong increased 0.88 percent, Maxis added 0.86 percent, Maybank collected 0.30 percent, MISC soared 3.97 percent, MRDIY tumbled 2.06 percent, Petronas Chemicals perked 0.64 percent, PPB Group climbed 1.13 percent, Press Metal rallied 1.55 percent, Public Bank collected 0.25 percent, QL Resources gained 0.78 percent, RHB Capital was up 0.18 percent, Sime Darby gathered 0.38 percent, SD Guthrie gathered 0.71 percent, Sunway spiked 3.13 percent, Telekom Malaysia improved 0.89 percent, Tenaga Nasional jumped 1.29 percent, YTL Corporation surged 4.68 percent, YTL Power skyrocketed 4.95 percent and Hong Leong Financial Group was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday and hugged the line for the first half of the day before diverging to finish mixed.

The Dow dipped 23.90 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 39,308.00, while the NASDAQ gained 159.54 points or 0.88 percent to end at a record 18,188.30 and the S&P 500 added 28.01 points or 0.51 percent to close at 5,537.02 - also a record.

The strength on Wall Street reflected optimism about the outlook for interest rates following the release of weaker than expected economic data.

The Institute for Supply Management showed an unexpected contraction by U.S. service sector activity in June. Also, the Labor Department noted a modest increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.

However, overall trading activity remained somewhat subdued and treasuries moved notably higher in reaction to the weaker than expected data. The markets closed earlier than usual and remain closed for the Independence Day holiday on Thursday.

Oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday after data showed a much larger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, while a weaker dollar also lent support. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended up by $1.07 at $83.88 a barrel.