(RTTNews) – The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost 15 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,645-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian market is upbeat on generally upbeat earnings news. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to also move higher.
The KLCI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the plantations and telecoms, while the financials were mixed and the industrials were soft.
For the day, the index rose 4.55 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 1,645.99 after trading between 1,641.71 and 1,649.31.
Among the actives, Axiata soared 2.13 percent, while Celcomdigi gained 0.56 percent, CIMB Group eased 0.12 percent, Genting rallied 1.50 percent, Genting Malaysia spiked 1.75 percent, IHH Healthcare dipped 0.14 percent, IOI Corporation gathered 0.27 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 0.66 percent, Maxis advanced 0.81 percent, Maybank fell 0.19 percent, MISC improved 0.79 percent, MRDIY rose 0.45 percent, Nestle Malaysia shed 0.48 percent, Petronas Chemicals sank 0.88 percent, Petronas Dagangan lost 0.44 percent, Petronas Gas dropped 0.90 percent, PPB Group increased 0.70 percent, Press Metal jumped 1.69 percent, Public Bank collected 0.66 percent, QL Resources accelerated 1.27 percent, RHB Bank slumped 0.93 percent, SD Guthrie climbed 0.85 percent, Telekom Malaysia slid 0.15 percent, Tenaga Nasional perked 0.14 percent, YTL Corporation surged 2.67 percent and YTL Power, Sime Darby and Sunway were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Friday but moved steadily higher as the day progressed, ending near session highs.
The Dow added 36.86 points or 0.09 percent to finish at a fresh record of 43,275.91, while the NASDAQ climbed 115.94 points or 0.63 percent to end at 18,489.55 and the S&P 500 rose 23.20 points or 0.40 percent to close at 5,864.67. For the week, the Dow added 1.0 percent, the S&P gained 0.9 percent and the NASDAQ rose 0.8 percent.
The NASDAQ benefitted from a sharp increase by shares of Netflix (NFLX), as the streaming giant soared by 11.1 percent to a record closing high after the company reported Q3 results that beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
Meanwhile, a steep drop by shares of American Express (AXP) limited the upside for the Dow, with the credit card giant tumbling by 3.2 percent after the company reported Q3 earnings that beat expectations but weaker than expected revenues.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department reported a modest pullback by housing starts and building permits in September.
Oil prices fell on Friday following downward revisions in oil demand forecast from OPEC and the International Energy Agency. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for November sank $1.45 or 2.05 percent at $69.22 a barrel. WTI crude futures fell more than 8 percent in the week.
Closer to home, Malaysia will release preliminary Q3 numbers for gross domestic product later today; in the previous three months, GDP was up 5.9 percent on year.
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