(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has climbed higher in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day slide in which it had stumbled almost 30 points or 1.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,590-point plateau and it's likely to see plenty of movement again on Monday.
The global forecast calls for volatility amidst the ongoing and very fluid Russian invasion of Ukraine, resulting sanctions and threats of nuclear deployment. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher on Friday and the Asian bourses are tipped to at least open higher on Monday.
The KLCI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, telecoms and plantation stocks.
For the day, the index advanced 17.83 points or 1.13 percent to finish at 1,591.72 after trading between 1,579.07 and 1,600.49. Volume was 3.248 billion shares worth 2.927 billion ringgit. There were 700 gainers and 318 decliners.
Among the actives, Axiata perked 0.26 percent, while CIMB Group surged 3.47 percent, Dialog Group added 0.72 percent, Digi.com declined 1.25 percent, Genting soared 2.89 percent, Genting Malaysia skyrocketed 5.63 percent, Hartalega Holdings retreated 1.71 percent, IHH Healthcare strengthened 1.25 percent, INARI jumped 1.61 percent. IOI Corporation spiked 2.22 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong improved 0.31 percent, Maybank collected 2.07 percent, Maxis tumbled 1.73 percent, MISC rose 0.28 percent, MRDIY climbed 1.37 percent, Petronas Chemicals advanced 0.98 percent, Public Bank accelerated 2.10 percent, RHB Capital gained 0.70 percent, Sime Darby increased 0.43 percent, Sime Darby Plantations shed 0.42 percent, Telekom Malaysia was up 0.19 percent, Top Glove rallied 1.52 percent and PPB Group, Press Metal, Petronas Gas and Tenaga Nasional were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages shook off a subdued open on Friday and accelerated as the day progressed, finishing near session highs.
The Dow surged 834.95 points or 2.51 percent to finish at 34,058.75, while the NASDAQ soared 221.02 points or 1.64 percent to end at 13,694.62 and the S&P 500 jumped 95.95 points or 2.24 percent to close at 4,384.65. For the week, the Dow eased 0.1 percent, the NASDAQ gained 1.1 percent and the S&P rose 0.8 percent.
The rally on Wall Street came as traders continued to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the sell-off in recent sessions on concerns about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The response over the weekend saw an increasing wave of sanctions against Russia, including disruptions to energy flows and financial access.
Crude oil futures settled lower Friday but posted a weekly gain as traders weighed the possibility of disruptions to global crude supplies due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down by $1.22 or about 1.3 percent at $91.59 a barrel.
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