Win Streak May Continue For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing almost 25 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,665-point plateau and it's expected to open in the green again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with technology and oil stocks expected to lead the markets higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished sharply higher on Friday as the financials, telecoms, industrials and plantations were all mostly in the green.

For the day, the index climbed 19.00 points or 1.15 percent to finish at 1,665.90 after trading between 1,647.60 and 1,668.15. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail expanded 1.88 percent, while AMMB Holdings accelerated 2.42 percent, Axiata vaulted 2.33 percent, Celcomdigi shed 0.30 percent, CIMB Group surged 3.43 percent, Gamuda tumbled 1.41 percent, IHH Healthcare perked 0.24 percent, IOI Corporation sank 0.49 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 1.52 percent, Maxis fell 0.26 percent, Maybank collected 1.36 percent, MISC increased 0.53 percent, MRDIY dropped 0.65 percent, Nestle Malaysia rose 0.35 percent, Petronas Chemicals lost 0.28 percent, Petronas Dagangan climbed 1.65 percent, Petronas Gas rallied 2.38 percent, PPB Group soared 2.91 percent, Press Metal retreated 1.14 percent, Public Bank spiked 2.49 percent, QL Resources added 0.51 percent, RHB Bank jumped 2.25 percent, SD Guthrie strengthened 1.82 percent, Sunway slumped 0.71 percent, Telekom Malaysia improved 1.40 percent, Tenaga Nasional gained 0.45 percent, YTL Corporation stumbled 2.30 percent, YTL Power plummeted 3.46 percent and Sime Darby was unchanged.

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

The Dow jumped 183.04 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 48,134.89, while the NASDAQ rallied 301.26 points or 1.31 percent to end at 23,307.62 and the S&P 500 gained 59.74 points or 0.88 percent to close at 6,834.50.

For the week, the Dow slid 0.7 percent, the NASDAQ added 0.5 percent and the S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent.

The continued strength on Wall Street came amid sharp gains from the technology shares thanks to solid earnings news and easing concerns of a tech bubble.

In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors reported a modest increase by existing home sales in the U.S. in November. Also, the University of Michigan said consumer sentiment in the U.S. rebounded less than expected in December.

Crude oil increased on Friday amid concerns of a supply side disruption due to brewing U.S.-Venezuela tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up by $0.47 or 0.84 percent at $56.62 per barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will release November numbers for consumer prices later today; in October, inflation was down 0.1 percent on month and up 1.3 percent on year.