The Malaysian stock market has been performing well, showing positive movement continuously for five sessions and garnering more than 25 points or an increase of 1.5 percent. Currently, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index holds strong just above the 1,505-point threshold, although investors might potentially secure their profits on Monday.
The global projection for Asian markets is slightly unclear, particularly due to the anticipation of upcoming earnings news and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) rate decision statement anticipated later this week. An upward trend was noticed in the European markets, whereas mixed results were shown by U.S. markets, with Asian markets projected to replicate this mixed movement.
On Friday, the KLCI ended slightly on the upside, with gains from the finance and telecommunications sectors countered by a downward pull from the plantation stocks.
The index gained 2.18 points on the day, equating to an increase of 0.14 percent, rounding off at 1,506.28 after trading in a range between 1,502.89 and 1,509.39.
Highlighting some movers, Axiata experienced a dip of 0.76 percent, while AMMB Holdings saw an upswing of 0.71 percent. Other gainers included CIMB Group (up by 0.98 percent), Genting (up by 1.49 percent), Genting Malaysia (up by 0.74 percent), IHH Healthcare (up by 0.16 percent), and others. Among the ones on the downside were IOI Corporation (down by 1.00 percent), Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Petronas Dagangan (both down by 0.09 percent), Maxis (down by 0.26 percent), and others. No movement was reported for QL Resources, Public Bank, RHB Capital, Sime Darby, Celcomdigi, and Hong Leong Bank.
With reference to the Wall Street performance, the leading averages showed a rollercoaster trend on Friday — opening lower, surging mid-day, and falling sharply towards the ending, thus resulting in mixed results.
The Dow was up by 60.33 points or 0.16 percent, settling at 38,109.43, while the NASDAQ sank by 55.14 points or 0.36 percent, closing at 15,455.36, and the S&P 500 minimally dropped 3.19 points or 0.07 percent, concluding at 4,890.97.
Investors and traders are weighing the unexpected earnings news from semiconductor mogul Intel (INTC) against the surprisingly tame consumer price inflation data.
Furthermore, the Commerce Department released a report showing a sharper than expected deceleration in the yearly growth rate for core consumer prices in December.
Investors may adopt a cautious approach ahead of this week's Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. Even though it is widely expected that interest rates will hold steady, the timing of the eagerly anticipated rate cuts is what investors will keep an eye out for.
Optimistic about the oil demand outlook, crude oil futures finished on the rise this past Friday. This positive sentiment was due to encouraging U.S. economic data and the Chinese central bank's new stimulus measures. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March upped by $0.65 or 0.84 percent, closing at $78.01 a barrel, marking a weekly spike of 6 percent in WTI crude futures.
