The Malaysia stock market has recently experienced upwards momentum over two successive sessions, accumulating nearly 15 points or a 1% enrichment. Currently, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index is teetering close to the 1m545-point mark, although it remains to be seen if this ascending trajectory will persist on Tuesday.
The global prognosis for Asian markets remains quite ambiguous due to uncertainties surrounding the future direction of interest rates. European markets were buoyant, while the U.S. exchanges showed mixed results. Asian markets are predicted to mirror the varied U.S. trend.
On Monday, KLCI ended on a slight high due to the gains made by financial and plantation stocks. Conversely, telecoms showcased mixed performance. The index recorded a modest increase of 7.95 points or 0.52%, closing at 1,544.02 after fluctuating between 1,537.07 and 1,544.71.
In terms of active market players, Axiata experienced a 1.12% slide, while Celcomdigi saw a 1.19% spike. The rest of the market was varied with gains and losses spread across different sectors, with no change in the stock positions of MRDIY, Telekom Malaysia, Tenaga Nasional, IOI Corporation, Genting Malaysia, and QL Resources.
On Wall Street, the atmosphere was cloudy as the primary market averages exhibited meager growth at Monday's opening only to spend most of the day deflated. However, NASDAQ made a slight recovery by day's end.
The Dow fell by 240.52 points or 0.60% to land at 39,566.85, whereas NASDAQ incrementally rose by 17.37 points or 0.11% to culminate at 16,396.83. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 suffered a loss of 10.58 points or 0.20% to conclude at 5,243.77.
Early Wall Street strength emerged as traders finally had the chance to respond to the recent U.S. consumer price inflation data which met expectations. But the enthusiasm remained subdued amid ongoing doubts about whether inflation is decelerating rapidly enough to secure the anticipated interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
The day ended on a downturn as potential economic growth reported by the Institute for Supply Management led to a surge in Treasury yields. Oil prices seemed to buck the trend, increasing due to concerns of potential supply reduction following reports of an Israeli strike near the Iranian embassy in Damascus. Consequently, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $0.54 or 0.65% at $83.71 a barrel.
