The Malaysia stock market on Thursday ended the two-day slide in which it had stumbled almost 20 points or 1.2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,540-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The KLCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the telecoms and plantations, while the financials came in mixed.
For the day, the index rose 5.62 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 1,541.41 after trading between 1,534.66 and 1,542.33.
Among the actives, Axiata rallied 1.44 percent, while Celcomdigi surged 2.60 percent, CIMB Group climbed 1.08 percent, Genting soared 1.87 percent, Genting Malaysia strengthened 1.09 percent, IHH Healthcare gathered 0.17 percent, IOI Corporation spiked 1.51 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong jumped 1.18 percent, Maybank lost 0.21 percent, MISC was up 0.13 percent, MRDIY sank 0.67 percent, Petronas Chemicals increased 0.59 percent, Petronas Gas shed 0.45 percent, PPB Group improved 0.64 percent, Press Metal perked 0.22 percent, Public Bank shed 0.47 percent, QL Resources slumped 0.68 percent, Sime Darby gained 0.38 percent, Sime Darby Plantations accelerated 1.38 percent, Telekom Malaysia advanced 0.84 percent, Tenaga Nasional and RHB Capital both collected 0.35 percent, YTL Corporation rose 0.37 percent, YTL Power added 0.52 percent and Maxis and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened modestly higher on Thursday and remained in the green throughout the session, ending at fresh record closing highs.
The Dow rallied 269.24 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 39,781.37, while the NASDAQ added 32.43 points or 0.20 percent to close at 16,401.84 and the S&P 500 gained 16.91 points or 0.32 percent to end at 5,241.53.
The early strength on Wall Street came as stocks continued to benefit from positive reaction to Wednesday\'s monetary policy announcement by the Federal Reserve.
While the Fed left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected, the central bank also maintained its forecast for three interest rate cuts this year.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department noted a slight drop by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales unexpectedly soared in February.
Crude oil futures settled lower on Thursday, weighed down by a stronger dollar and weak gasoline demand in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May dipped $0.20 at $81.07 a barrel.