(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, gathering more 25 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,560-point plateau and it's tipped to add to its winnings again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on bargain hunting, especially among the technology tocks that were battered last week. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit. The KLCI finished modestly higher again on Monday following gains from the financial shares, telecoms and plantations. For the day, the index gained 12.02 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 1,559.59 after trading between 1,548.38 and 1,559.94. Among the actives, Axiata surged 2.75 percent, while Celcomdigi jumped 1.73 percent, CIMB Group improved 0.91 percent, Genting spiked 1.80 percent, Genting Malaysia rallied 1.16 percent, IHH Healthcare and Telekom Malaysia both gathered 0.49 percent, IOI Corporation increased 0.75 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 0.17 percent, Maxis gained 0.57 percent, Maybank collected 0.93 percent, MISC fell 0.12 percent, MRDIY accelerated 2.05 percent, Petronas Chemicals shed 0.29 percent, PPB Group rose 0.51 percent, Public Bank and AMMB Holdings both advanced 1.20 percent, QL Resources picked up 0.16 percent, RHB Capital added 0.73 percent, Sime Darby strengthened 1.08 percent, Sime Darby Plantations and Petronas Gas both were up 0.22 percent, Tenaga Nasional perked 0.34 percent, YTL Corporation soared 2.69 percent, YTL Power climbed 1.00 percent and Press Metal was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and remained well in the green throughout the trading day.
The Dow rallied 253.58 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 38,239.98, while the NASDAQ jumped 169.30 points or 1.11 percent to close at 15,451.31 and the S&P 500 gained 43.37 points or 0.87 percent to end at 5,010.60.
The strength that emerged on Wall Street came on easing fears of a wider Middle East conflict after Iran and Israel completed 'measured' counterattacks that were calibrated to avoid any casualties.
Investors scooped up bargains ahead of the release of a slew of U.S. economic data including reports on new home sales, durable goods orders and personal income and spending.
Earnings season also starts to pick up steam this week, with Tesla (TSLA), Boeing (BA), IBM (IBM), Caterpillar (CAT), Honeywell (HON), Alphabet (GOOGL), Intel (INTC), Microsoft (MSFT), Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) among the companies due to report their quarterly results.
Oil prices drifted lower on Monday on concerns about the outlook for global oil demand, while recent data showing a sharp jump in U.S. crude inventories also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May fell $0.29 or 0.34 percent at $82.85 a barrel.
