The Malaysia stock market turned higher again on Wednesday, one session after it had snapped the four-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 15 points or 0.8 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed just above the 1,855-point plateau, and now the market may see further upside on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is fairly upbeat, with sentiment from the latest batch of Federal Reserve minutes tempered by anxiety regarding earnings. The European and U.S. markets moved higher, and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow that lead.
The KLCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, plantation stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index added 3.44 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 1,855.75 after trading between 1,851.41 and 1,856.03. Volume was 2.22 billion shares worth 2.38 billion ringgit. There were 462 gainers and 336 decliners, with 351 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Tenaga Nasional, Nestle, BAT and Dutch Lady Milk Industries all moved higher, while CIMB Group was flat and Maybank and Public Bank ended lower.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks accelerated to the upside following the release of the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting - which eased concerns about the central bank raising interest rates sooner than anticipated.
The minutes said some meeting participants expressed concern that the increase in the median projection for the federal funds rate could be misconstrued as indicating a move to a less accommodative reaction function.
Several participants noted that the increase in the median projection for the federal funds rate overstated the shift in the projections. But a number of participants said an upward shift was arguably warranted by the improvement in the outlook for the labor market.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen spooked the markets in remarks following the meeting by suggesting that the Fed is likely to begin raising interest rates by the middle of next year.
The Dow jumped 181.04 points or 1.1 percent to 16,437.18, while the NASDAQ soared 70.91 points or 1.7 percent to 4,183.90 and the S&P 500 surged 20.22 points or 1.1 percent to 1,872.18.
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December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.