The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, collecting more than 15 points or 0.9 percent along the way. Now at a 20-year closing high, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,840-point plateau and it figures to hold steady in that neighborhood again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher, thanks to solid earnings news and a jump in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.
The KLCI finished slightly higher again on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, telecoms and industrials.
For the day, the index gained 4.89 points or 0.27 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,838.04 after moving as low as 1,830.98. Volume was 3.9 billion shares worth 3 billion ringgit. There were 649 gainers and 357 decliners.
Among the actives, Sime Darby surged 3.57 percent, while Astro Malaysia Holdings tumbled 1.15 percent, Genting jumped 1.03 percent, Genting Malaysia skidded 0.73 percent, YTL Corporation climbed 0.65 percent, Digi.com added 0.61 percent, Axiata gained 0.54 percent, Petronas Chemicals advanced 0.37 percent, Tenaga Nasional perked 0.25 percent, Maybank collected 0.20 percent, CIMB Group was up 0.15 percent and IOI Corporation, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Telekom Malaysia, IHH Healthcare and Public Bank all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday, allowing the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 to reach new record closing highs.
The Dow eased 3.79 points or 0.01 percent to 26,210.81, while the NASDAQ climbed 52.26 points or 0.71 percent to 7,460.29 and the S&P 500 rose 6.16 points or 0.22 percent to 2,839.13.
The strength on Wall Street came as lawmakers managed to re-open the government following a brief shutdown, passing a stopgap bill funding the government until February 8th.
Upbeat earnings news has also generated buying interest, with Dow components Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Procter & Gamble (PG) and Travelers (TRV) reporting better than expected quarterly results.
Crude oil prices were higher Tuesday as OPEC officials continued to signal their determination to re-balance oil markets via supply cuts. February WTI oil climbed 90 cents or 1.4 percent to $64.47/bbl, the highest since December 2014.
Closer to home, Malaysia will provide December figures for consumer prices later today; in November, inflation was up 0.7 percent on month and 3.4 percent on year.
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