Win Streak May Continue For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, collecting almost 20 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,620-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to optimism over the U.S. presidential election. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and mixed performances from the plantations and telecoms.

For the day. The index rose 4.27 points or 0.26 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,620.70 after trading as low as 1,613.91.

Among the actives, Axiata and Sime Darby both added 0.85 percent, while Celcomdigi rose 0.59 percent, CIMB Group jumped 1.00 percent, Genting gathered 0.50 percent, Genting Malaysia advanced 0.88 percent, IHH Healthcare dipped 0.27 percent, IOI Corporation shed 0.50 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 0.45 percent, Maxis surged 2.75 percent, Maybank climbed 0.96 percent, MISC eased 0.13 percent, MRDIY retreated 0.89 percent, Nestle Malaysia slumped 0.69 percent, Petronas Chemicals plummeted 8.04 percent, PPB Group spiked 1.69 percent, Press Metal slid 0.43 percent, Public Bank and Sunway both perked 0.23 percent, QL Resources gained 0.83 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.62 percent, SD Guthrie soared 2.02 percent, Telekom Malaysia lost 0.46 percent, YTL Corporation rallied 1.45 percent, YTL Power improved 0.31 percent and Tenaga Nasional was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and picked up steam as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow rallied 427.28 points or 1.02 percent to finish at 42,221.88, while the NASDAQ surged 259.19 points or 1.43 percent to close at 18,439.17 and the S&P 500 jumped 70.07 points or 1.23 percent to end at 5.782.76.

The rally on Wall Street reflected optimism the stock market and the U.S. economy in general will continue to perform well regardless of the results of the elections.

Polls show an extremely tight race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, suggesting the outcome of the presidential election may not be known by the end of the night.

In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said service sector activity grew at an accelerated rate in October. Also, the Commerce Department noted a significant increase in the size of the U.S. trade deficit in September, as imports surged and exports slumped.

Oil futures settled higher on Tuesday, extending gains from the previous session as traders reacted positively to OPEC's decision to delay production increases, while a weaker dollar also supported prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December closed up $0.52 or 0.73 percent at $71.99 a barrel.

Closer to home, the central Bank in Malaysia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting later today and then announce its decision on interest rates; the central bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate steady at 3.00 percent.