The Malaysia stock market has moved higher now in five consecutive trading sessions, gathering 10 points or 0.55 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index settled just below the 1,880-point plateau, although the market may see profit taking on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is inconclusive with solid economic data from the United States countered by caution ahead of U.S. jobs data on Friday. The European markets were firmly in the red, while the U.S. bourses were mixed but little changed - and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KLCI finished barely higher on Wednesday as gains from the financial shares and industrial issues were offset by weakness from the plantation sector.
For the day, the index gained 1.00 point or 0.05 percent to finish at 1,878.34 after trading between 1,877.51 and 1,886.39. Volume was 2.11 billion shares worth 2.30 billion ringgit. There were 461 gainers and 408 decliners, with 473 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, TNB, Axiata, PDZ Holdings and Sumatec all finished higher, while Malaysia Airlines was unchanged and Sime Darby, Maybank and Public Bank ended lower.
The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as stocks fluctuated on Wednesday before ending the day mixed. The choppy trading came as traders digested upbeat GDP data as well as the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.
The Dow dipped 31.75 points or 0.2 percent to finish at 16,880.36, while the NASDAQ climbed 20.20 points or 0.5 percent to 4,462.90 and the S&P 500 inched up 0.12 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 1,970.07.
Early buying interest was generated by a report from the Commerce Department showing that U.S. economic activity rebounded by more than anticipated in the second quarter.
While the report generated some optimism about the economy, the data also fueled speculation that the Fed could begin raising interest rates sooner than previously anticipated.
Later in the day, the Fed announced its widely expected decision to reduce the pace of its asset purchases by another $10 billion to $25 billion per month. The central bank added that it continues to anticipate maintaining the current target range for a considerable time after the asset purchase program ends.
Later today, Malaysia will provide producer price data for June; in May, PPI was down 0.6 percent on month and up 3.7 percent on year.
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