The Malaysian stock market broke its two-day losing streak on Friday, with the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index just below the 1,535-point mark. Its next move, however, may be rather neutral on Monday regarding the global market outlook.
Predictions for Asian markets are currently uncertain and suggest a lower trend, influenced by pessimism over interest rates. While European markets rose and U.S. counterparts fell, the Asian market is expected to find a middle ground.
On Friday, the KLCI saw a modest increase, spurred by gains in financial shares, plantation stocks, and telecommunications. The index rose by 5.17 points or 0.34 percent, closing at 1,533.55.
Key movers included companies like Axiata and Tenaga Nasional, which both surged by 0.72 percent. Similarly, Celcomdigi saw a spike of 1.65 percent, and CIMB Group jumped by 0.79 percent. Other companies like MISC and MRDIY experienced significant growth, soaring by 2.00 percent and 4.14 percent, respectively.
Reflecting on Wall Street's performance, major averages opened lower on Friday and remained in the red throughout the session. The Dow fell 145.11 points or 0.37 percent, while the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 decreased by 0.82 percent and 0.48 percent respectively.
This downward trend was attributed to renewed concerns about interest rates. This followed a Labor Department report which indicated a larger than expected increase in U.S. producer prices in January. Combined with last week's higher than expected consumer price inflation figures, it led to concerns that the Federal Reserve might delay interest rate cuts longer than investors originally anticipated.
However, these worries were somewhat diminished by a separate report from the University of Michigan, which noted an increase in consumer sentiment in February.
Furthermore, oil prices climbed on Friday, with the most active WTI Crude futures reaching an 11-week high due to potential supply disruption fears in the Middle East. As a result, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $1.16 at $79.19 a barrel.
