(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in four straight sessions, gathering almost 40 points or 2.8 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,470-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat, with support from the energy stocks likely offset by weakness from the technology companies. The European and U.S. markets were mixed to higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.
The KLCI finished slightly higher again on Monday following gains from the plantations and mixed performances from the financials and telecoms.
For the day, the index rose 3.42 points or 0.23 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,469.22 after trading as low as 1,461.28. Volume was 2.015 billion shares worth 1.119 billion ringgit. There were 530 decliners and 300 gainers. Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 1.82 percent, while CIMB Group shed 0.57 percent, Dialog Group plummeted 2.80 percent, Digi.com slumped 0.85 percent, Genting soared 1.50 percent, Genting Malaysia advanced 0.69 percent, Hartalega Holdings rallied 1.08 percent, IHH Healthcare lost 0.46 percent, INARI sank 0.73 percent, IOI Corporation improved 0.50 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong increased 0.46 percent, Maybank dipped 0.11 percent, Maxis skidded 1.13 percent, MISC rose 0.43 percent, MRDIY jumped 0.94 percent, Petronas Chemicals gained 0.47 percent, Press Metal perked 0.67 percent, Public Bank collected 1.09 percent, RHB Capital added 0.52 percent, Sime Darby surged 1.73 percent, Sime Darby Plantations climbed 0.72 percent, Telekom Malaysia spiked 1.28 percent, Tenaga Nasional was up 0.25 percent and Top Glove and PPB Group were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened flat on Monday and then bounced up and down throughout the session before finishing mixed.
The Dow climbed 90.75 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 31,990.04, while the NASDAQ lost 51.45 points or 0.43 percent to close at 11,782.67 and the S&P 500 rose 5.14 points or 0.13 percent to end at 3,966.77.
Trading activity was somewhat subdued as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision on Wednesday.
CME Group's FedWatch tool is currently indicating a 77.5 percent chance of a 75-basis point interest rate hike and a 22.5 percent chance of a 100-basis point rate hike.
Crude oil futures settled sharply higher on Monday as concerns about outlook for energy demand eased, while the dollar's weakness ahead of the upcoming Fed statement also supported crude oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $2.00 or 2.1 percent at $96.70 a barrel.
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