(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday snapped the four-day losing streak in which it had dropped almost 20 points or 1.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,460-point plateau and it may pick up steam on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on better than expected U.S. inflation data, which fueled optimism over interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The KLCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.
For the day, the index rose 6.54 points or 0.45 percent to finish at 1,451.72 after trading between 1,444.90 and 1,453.99.
Among the actives, Celcomdigi soared 1.88 percent, while CIMB Group lost 0.35 percent, Dialog Group and Public Bank both collected 0.48 percent, Genting surged 3.13 percent, Genting Malaysia improved 0.81 percent, IHH Healthcare gathered 0.34 percent, IOI Corporation fell 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 0.55 percent, Maxis strengthened 1.24 percent, Maybank perked 0.33 percent, MISC was up 0.28 percent, MRDIY plunged 2.56 percent, Petronas Chemicals and PPB Group both advanced 1.11 percent, Press Metal added 0.62 percent, RHB Capital sank 0.53 percent, Sime Darby jumped 1.28 percent, Sime Darby Plantations rallied 1.39 percent, Telekom Malaysia shed 0.38 percent, Tenaga Nasional rose 0.50 percent, Westports Holdings climbed 1.16 percent and Axiata and QL Resources were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened sharply higher on Tuesday and stayed that way throughout the session.
The Dow surged 489.83 points or 1.43 percent to finish at 34,827.70, while the NASDAQ rallied 326.64 points or 2.37 percent to end at 14,094.38 and the S&P 500 jumped 84.15 points or 1.91 percent to close at 4,495.70.
The rally on Wall Street came following the release of the Labor Department's highly anticipated report on consumer price inflation in October, which came in lower than expected.
The report may provide the Federal Reserve with confidence that inflation is on a downward trajectory, so further rate hikes may not be necessary.
Treasury yields moved sharply lower following the release of the report, adding to the buying interest on Wall Street.
Crude oil futures failed to hold gains and settled flat on Tuesday as traders reacted to a report from the International Energy Agency that oil markets won't be as tight as expected this quarter. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December settled at $78.26 a barrel, unchanged from the previous close.
