The winning streak has stretched to six sessions now for the Malaysian stock market, which has collected more than 30 points or 2.7 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index finished just above the 1,330-point plateau, and now investors are betting on continued gains when the market kicks off trade on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive, thanks to a solid start from the Q2 earnings season. Technology stocks are tipped rise broadly, while financials, airlines and properties also may see strength. The European and U.S. markets ended sharply higher, and the Asian markets are predicted to follow that lead.
The KLCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday, thanks to solid gains from the financial shares and plantation stocks, as well as more modest upside from the industrials.
For the day, the index collected 6.13 points or 0.46 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,332.87 after dipping as low as 1,328.71. Volume was 574.317 million shares worth 1.085 billion ringgit. There were 363 gainers and 283 decliners, with 290 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the gainers, Scomi Marine, Axiata Group, Digi.Com, KFC Holdings, United Plantations, Maybank, CIMB Group, Sime Darby, Maxis, Tenaga and MISC all finished higher.
Wall Street put forth an optimistic session as stocks rallied on Tuesday with Intel, Alcoa (AA) and CSX Corp. (CSX) all reporting quarterly results that topped estimates, hinting at a strong earnings season. The major averages all closed firmly positive, rising for the sixth straight session.
Market sentiment was boosted in reaction to aluminum giant Alcoa's second quarter profit compared to a year-ago loss, with the turnaround reflecting a 22 percent jump in revenues. Railroad operator CSX Corp. also helped to generate buying interest by soundly beating profit and revenue projections.
Intel Corp. then said Tuesday after the markets closed that it swung to a $2.9 billion second quarter profit, helped by higher revenue to mark the best quarter in the company's history.
In other corporate news, Tyco Electronics Ltd. (TEL) has agreed to acquire ADC Telecommunications Inc. (ADCT) for $12.75 per share in cash or an enterprise value of $1.24 billion. Shares of both firms ended notably higher on the news.
Meanwhile, the markets largely shrugged off the day's news on economic front. In the afternoon, the Treasury Department reported a budget deficit of $68 billion in June and a deficit of just above $1 trillion for the first nine months of fiscal 2010. The monthly deficit was just below expectations, which called for a budget shortfall of $70 billion. Equities saw essentially no reaction to the report.
Earlier in the day, the Commerce Department released a report showing that the U.S. trade deficit widened to $42.3 billion in May from $40.3 billion in April. The wider trade deficit came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the trade deficit to narrow to $39.4 billion.
In overseas news, Moody's Investor Services downgraded the credit rating of Portugal two notches to A1. However, the rating agency reaffirmed its stable outlook.
The major averages saw some downside in late-session dealing but still finished with strong gains. The Dow jumped by 146.75 points or 1.4 percent to 10,363.02, the NASDAQ advanced by 43.67 points or 2 percent to 2,242.03 and the S&P 500 gained 16.59 points or 1.5 percent to 1,095.34.
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