(RTTNews) - Ahead of the long break for the Lunar New Year, the Malaysia stock market had climbed higher in three straight sessions, perking more than a dozen points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,520-point plateau it's predicted to open sharply higher on Thursday as it catches up on missed sentiment.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains upbeat following brutal losses last week, with oil and technology stocks expected to lead the way higher. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The KLCI finished slightly higher on Friday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the telecoms, plantations and glove makers.
For the day, the index added 4.03 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 1,520.02 after trading between 1,517.96 and 1,522.95. Volume was 2.002 billion shares worth 1.541 billion ringgit. There were 494 gainers and 361 decliners.
Among the actives, Axiata surged 2.19 percent, while CIMB Group added 0.57 percent, Dialog Group retreated 1.48 percent, Digi.com soared 2.12 percent, Genting increased 0.23 percent, Genting Malaysia advanced 0.73 percent, Hartalega Holdings shed 0.36 percent, IHH Healthcare and Hong Leong Bank both rose 0.31 percent, INARI jumped 1.24 percent, IOI Corporation skidded 1.03 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.09 percent, Maybank was up 0.12 percent, Maxis gained 0.47 percent, MISC dipped 0.14 percent, MRDIY tumbled 1.67 percent, PPB Group lost 0.24 percent, Press Metal perked 0.16 percent, Public Bank collected 0.24 percent, RHB Capital gathered 0.54 percent, Sime Darby Plantations climbed 0.79 percent, Telekom Malaysia sank 0.59 percent, Top Glove spiked 1.92 percent and Petronas Chemicals, Petronas Gas, Sime Darby and Tenaga Nasional were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off some early weakness on Wednesday before moving firmly higher for the fourth straight session.
The Dow jumped 224.09 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 35,629.33, while the NASDAQ advanced 71.54 points or 0.50 percent to close at 14,417.55 and the S&P 500 spiked 42.84 points or 0.94 percent to end at 4,589.38.
The continued strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings from some big-name companies like Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) and chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
Traders also reacted to a report from payroll processor ADP that showed an unexpectedly sharp pullback in U.S. private sector employment last month. On Friday, the Labor Department will release its more closely watched monthly jobs report, which includes both public and private sector jobs.
Crude oil futures inched higher Wednesday, supported by data showing a drop in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. However, the rise was just marginal as OPEC and its allies approved another 400,000 barrels per day in production that will begin in March. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended up by $0.06 or 0.1 percent at $88.26 a barrel.
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