[ad_1]
Shutterstock photo(RTTNews.com) – The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost 20 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,780-point plateau and it’s called higher again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside thanks to support from crude oil prices. The European markets were flat and mixed, and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher – and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The KLCI finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the financial shares were offset by losses from the plantation stocks.
Among the actives, Tenaga Nasional spiked 1.98 percent, while Hong Leong Bank soared 1.80 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong tumbled 1.28 percent, Genting jumped 1.09 percent, Sime Darby dropped 0.89 percent, Telekom Malaysia shed 0.81 percent, IOI Corporation lost 0.66 percent, CIMB Group collected 0.62 percent, Public Bank added 0.58 percent, IHH Healthcare fell 0.34 percent, Maybank gained 0.10 percent and Petronas Chemicals, Maxis, Astro Malaysia Holdings and YTL Corporation all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks turned in another lackluster performance in light volume on Thursday – although the Dow reached a fresh record closing high.
The Dow climbed 63.21 points or 0.26 percent to 24,837.51, while the NASDAQ edged up 10.82 points or 0.16 percent to 6,950.16 and the S&P 500 rose 4.92 points or 0.18 percent to 2,687.54.
The mild strength on Wall Street reflected window dressing as investors padded their portfolios going into the end of the year – although many traders remained away from their desks ahead of the long weekend, leading to another light trading day.
In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly came in unchanged in the week ended December 23. Also, MNI Indicators said Chicago-area business activity unexpectedly expanded at a faster rate in December.
Crude oil prices continued to rise Thursday, touching fresh two-year highs after another drop in U.S. oil inventories. West Texas Intermediate oil for February ended up 20 cents or 0.3 percent at $59.84/bbl.
For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com
[ad_2]
阅读更多