(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day losing streak in which it had fallen almost 5 points or 0.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,570-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on the back of tech shares after solid earnings news. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KLCI finished slightly higher on Thursday following gains from the industrials, losses from the plantations and a mixed bag from the financials.
For the day, the index rose 2.32 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 1,571.11 after trading between 1,565.64 and 1,571.43. Volume was 2.1 billion shares worth 1.7 billion ringgit. There were 438 decliners and 371 gainers.
Among the actives, Sime Darby Plantations plummeted 1.67 percent, while Tenaga Nasional surged 1.32 percent, Malaysia Airports Holdings soared 1.13 percent, Genting spiked 1.06 percent, AMMB Holdings plunged 1.01 percent, Axiata accelerated 0.94 percent, Dialog Group tumbled 0.85 percent, CIMB Group collected 0.81 percent, Hartalega Holdings jumped 0.77 percent, IOI Corporation skidded 0.70 percent, Petronas Chemicals climbed 0.54 percent, RHB Capital dropped 0.53 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong sank 0.46 percent, Sime Darby shed 0.43 percent, Top Glove lost 0.23 percent, Press Metal advanced 0.21 percent, Public Bank fell 0.21 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.18 percent, Maybank eased 0.12 percent and Digi.com, Genting Malaysia and MISC were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is inconclusive as stocks hovered near the unchanged line for much of Thursday trade before ending mixed.
The Dow fell 28.42 points or 0.11 percent to end at 26,805.53, while the NASDAQ added 66.00 points or 0.81 percent to 8,185.80 and the S&P 500 rose 5.77 points or 0.19 percent to 3,010.29.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ benefited from solid earnings news from Microsoft (MSFT) and electric car maker Tesla (TSLA) - while 3M (MMM) disappointed and weighed on the Dow.
In economic news, the Commerce Department noted a bigger than expected decrease in durable goods orders in September, and also that new home sales pulled back last month. Also, the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell last week.
Crude oil futures ended higher on Thursday, extending gains to a third straight session amid rising hopes the OPEC and allies will extend output cuts. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended up $0.26 or 0.5 percent at $56.23 a barrel.
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