The Malaysian stock market has seen consecutive increases, collectively rising by nearly 4 points or 0.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index is currently just above 1,515 points and is projected to receive additional support on Monday.
Global forecasts for Asian markets are positive, influenced by robust U.S. employment data. This, however, lessens the likelihood of an interest rate increase next month. European markets showed mixed performance, American markets rose, and Asian markets are expected to follow the U.S. trend.
On Friday, the KLCI showed a slight increase; gains from finances and industrials counterbalanced telecom sector's losses and the plantation sector’s mixed performance. For the day, the index increased by 3.60 points or 0.24 percent and ended at 1,516.58, with trading oscillating between 1,508.50 and 1,521.23.
Among the actives, Axiata fell by 0.37 percent, and Celcomdigi by 0.94 percent. Conversely, Genting and Genting Malaysia rose by 2.97 percent and 2.59 percent respectively, with IHH Healthcare also up by 0.16 percent. In contrast, IOI Corporation lost 0.50 percent, and Kuala Lumpur Kepong went down by 0.90 percent. Other changes in stocks include Maxis's increase by 0.53 percent, Maybank's rise of 0.86 percent, and MRDIY's gain of 2.90 percent. Meanwhile, Petronas Chemicals, PPB Group, Public Bank, RHB Capital, and Sime Darby rose to various extents, while Telekom Malaysia and YTL Corporation fell.
From Wall Street, major averages began mixed on Friday but progressively rose and finished substantially higher, with both the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching new record closing highs. Strong company performance from the likes of Meta Platforms and Amazon fuelled this rally.
Notably, traders reacted to the Labor Department's revealing report of stronger-than-expected job growth in January. This decreases chances for an interest rate cut in March, but a robust jobs market bodes well for the stock market and economy.
Oil prices dropped significantly on Friday due to reduced expectations of an early Federal Reserve rate cut following data on U.S. non-farm payroll employment growth in January. The dollar's strong performance post-jobs data also affected oil prices.
