(RTTNews) - Ahead of Monday's holiday for Awal Muharram, the Malaysia stock market had moved higher in consecutive trading days, gathering more than 20 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,610-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement, with solid economic data from European offset by concerns over the trade war between the United States and China. The European markets were up and the U.S. markets were off on holiday - and the Asian bourses are called flat with a touch of upside.
The KLCI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, plantation stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index advanced 16.96 points or 1 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,612.14 after moving as low as 1,601.59. Volume was 2.2 billion shares worth 2 billion ringgit. There were 525 gainers and 315 decliners.
Among the actives, Malaysia Airports Holdings plummeted 3.74 percent, while AMMB Holdings surged 3.19 percent, Maxis soared 2.96 percent, Sime Darby spiked 2.69 percent, CIMB Group accelerated 2.43 percent, Petronas Chemicals jumped 2.36 percent, Sime Darby Plantations climbed 2.05 percent, Top Glove gathered 1.71 percent, Genting perked 1.69 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 1.61 percent, Maybank collected 1.40 percent, Tenaga Nasional added 1.16 percent, IOI Corporation gained 1.15 percent, RHB Capital rose 0.88 percent, Genting Malaysia was up 0.64 percent, Dialog Group gained 0.29 percent, Digi.com added 0.20 percent and Public Bank was unchanged.
There is no lead from Wall Street, which was closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday - although the European markets were up for the third straight session.
The markets got a boost from the eurozone manufacturing index, which showed that the pace of regional decline slowed from the previous month.
But concerns over the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China continued to weigh on investors.
The U.S. has imposed new tariffs on certain Chinese products worth $125 billion. In retaliation, China imposed measures targeting $75 billion worth of U.S. goods, including 5 percent duty on crude oil imported from the U.S.
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