The Malaysian stock market has seen a positive trend in the last three consecutive sessions, accumulating over twelve points or 0.8 percent increase overall. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now just falls short of the 1,545-point mark, and is predicted to consolidate on Tuesday.
The international forecast for Asian markets is somewhat uncertain and potentially lower, as upcoming inflation data could impact interest rate projections. The European and U.S markets have remained largely unchanged. It is expected that Asian markets will follow the same trend.
On Monday, the KLCI reported a modest increase, driven by the financial and telecom sectors, while the plantation sector gave a mixed performance. The index rose 4.85 points or 0.31 percent to close at 1,544.71, after trading between 1,540.77 and 1,547.48.
Major market participants included AMMB Holdings, which took a steep dive of 3.63 percent. Conversely, Axiata rose by 0.73 percent and Celcomdigi soared by 1.9 percent. Other increases were noted by CIMB Group, Genting, and Genting Malaysia, whereas IOI Corporation and PPB Group both experienced a drop in their stocks.
The lead from Wall Street was less than exciting, as the primary averages opened lower on Monday and largely stayed that way. The Dow Jones managed to break above the line later in the day, ending slightly up.
Investors are keenly awaiting the Labor Department's release of its closely watched consumer price inflation report for February. The implication of this inflation data may significantly influence interest rate outlooks, according to Federal Reserve officials.
While it is expected that the Fed will maintain current rates at its monetary policy meeting next week, the data might alter expectations about when the central bank will start to lower rates.
Concerns over demand outlook from China and caution ahead of the key U.S. consumer price inflation data led to settling of oil futures lower on Monday. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended with a marginal decline of 0.1 percent at $77.93 a barrel.
In national news, Malaysia will release industrial production data for January, with forecasts predicting a rise of 2.0 percent year-on-year, following a minor dip of 0.1 percent in December.
