The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, rising almost 20 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,680-point plateau and it's predicted to open in the green again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian is mixed to higher on Covid-19 vaccine rollouts and hopes for stimulus. 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 on Wednesday following gains from the glove makers and mixed performances from the financial shares and plantations.
For the day, the index rose 7.39 points or 0.44 percent to finish at 1681.41 after trading between 1,679.39 and 1,695.87. Volume was 11.22 billion shares worth 5.2 billion ringgit. There were 830 gainers and 453 decliners.
Among the actives, Top Glove surged 5.62 percent, while Petronas Chemicals plummeted 4.52 percent, Hartalega Holdings soared 3.84 percent, Telekom Malaysia spiked 3.58 percent, Sime Darby plunged 1.72 percent, IOI Corporation tanked 1.57 percent, Axiata accelerated 1.31 percent, Public Bank rallied 0.92 percent, Genting jumped 0.83 percent, Genting Malaysia climbed 0.71 percent, Digi.com skidded 0.71 percent, IHH Healthcare advanced 0.70 percent, Dialog Group added 0.60 percent, Sime Darby Plantations sank 0.58 percent, Press Metal dropped 0.51 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 0.50 percent, Maybank shed 0.45 percent, MISC rose 0.30 percent, KLCC Real Estate lost 0.28 percent, RHB Capital was up 0.18 percent and Hong Leong Financial, CIMB Group and Tenaga Nasional were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks showed a lack of direction Wednesday before ending mixed, although the tech-heavy NASDAQ hit a new record closing high.
The Dow shed 44.77 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 30,154.54, while the NASDAQ jumped 63.13 points or 0.50 percent to end at 12,658.19 and the S&P 500 rose 6.55 points or 0.18 percent to close at 3,701.17.
The mixed close on Wall Street came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged while also revealing plans to continue its asset purchase program until the economy shows substantial progressed towards the central bank's goals of maximum employment and price stability.
Earlier in the day, traders were reluctant to make significant moves as they weighed optimism about a new fiscal stimulus bill against disappointing retail sales data. Traders have remained optimistic that lawmakers will eventually reach an agreement even though a deal on a new relief package has remained beyond their grasp for months.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said that retail sales slumped much more than expected in November. Also, the National Association of Home Builders reported that homebuilder confidence pulled back more than expected in December after reaching a record high in November.
Crude oil prices climbed Wednesday for a third straight session amid vaccine rollouts and optimism about fiscal stimulus in the U.S. A drop in crude inventories in the U.S. last week also contributed to oil's rise. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended up $0.20 or 0.4 percent at $47.82 a barrel.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
