The Malaysia stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one session after it had ended the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 15 points or 0.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,680-point plateau and it's looking at another firm open again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with support expected from technology and crude oil stocks. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are predicted to follow that lead.
The KLCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the plantations and a mixed picture from the financial shares.
For the day, the index added 3.26 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 1,679.42 after trading between 1,672.55 and 1,679.42. Volume was 2.4 billion shares worth 1.9 billion ringgit. There were 413 gainers and 374 decliners.
Among the actives, Dialog Group surged 2.13 percent, while Maxis soared 1.42 percent, Axiata Group plunged 1.25 percent, Public Bank spiked 1.13 percent, IOI Corporation and Genting both jumped 1.10 percent, Petronas Chemicals tumbled 0.96 percent, Top Glove climbed 0.86 percent, Sime Darby advanced 0.43 percent, CIMB Group collected 0.35 percent, Genting Malaysia skidded 0.30 percent, Digi.com dropped 0.22 percent, Maybank shed 0.21 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.14 percent and IHH Healthcare, RHB Capital and PPB Group were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks fluctuated on Tuesday but maintained a positive bias and finished in the green.
The Dow added 155.75 points or 0.65 percent to 24,065.59, while the NASDAQ gained 117.92 points or 1.71 percent to 7,023.83 and the S&P rose 27.69 points or 1.07 percent to 2,610.30.
Technology stocks boosted the markets after Neflix reported its largest ever increase in subscriptions.
In economic news, the Labor Department reported a modest decrease in producer prices in December, while the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed New York manufacturing activity grew at its slowest pace in over a year in January.
Crude oil prices surged higher Tuesday on supply cuts by OPEC and some non-OPEC members. Crude oil futures for February ended up $1.60 or 3.2 percent at $52.11 a barrel.
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