The Malaysian stock market has finished higher now in five straight sessions, collecting more than 45 points or 3.4 percent on its way to a record closing high. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index finished just above the 1,440-point plateau, and now investors are looking for further upside when the market kicks off trade on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, although the upside is likely limited by caution ahead of U.S. employment data later in the day. Technology and housing stocks are expected to provide support. The European markets were mixed but little changed and the U.S. bourses were firmly higher - and the Asian markets are also expected to track higher.
The KLCI finished modestly higher on Thursday, thanks to positive showings from the financial shares, plantation stocks and industrial issues.
For the day, the index collected 9.11 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 1,441.07 after trading between 1,431.71 and 1,441.80. Volume was 1.075 billion shares worth 1.87 billion ringgit. There were 511 gainers and 256 decliners, with 258 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Maybank, Sime Darby, JCY international and UEM Land all finished higher, while CIMB unchanged and KNM and Maxis ended lower.
Wall Street offers a positive lead as stocks ended notably higher on Thursday ahead of the landmark jobs report following the release of upbeat data on pending home sales and weekly jobless claims.
Boosting sentiment was data from the National Association of Realtors showing a 5.2 percent increase in its pending home sales index in July. Economists had been expecting the index to come in unchanged.
The mood on Wall Street was also helped by a report from the Labor Department showing that initial jobless claims edged down to 472,000 in the week ended August 28, below the 475,000 estimated by economists.
Continued growth in August retail sales also helped to elevate risk appetite, with Target (TGT) reporting a 1.8 percent increase same-store sales, Saks' (SKS) sales rising by 1 percent, Kohl's (KSS) seeing 4.5 percent growth and sales by wholesaler Costco (COST) jumping by 7 percent.
In other corporate news, Hewlett Packard (HPQ) beat out rival Dell Inc. (DELL) in a bidding war for electronic storage firm 3Par (PAR), offering a winning bid of $33 per share, or a total of approximately $2 billion.
Additionally, fast food giant Burger King (BKC) closed markedly higher after the firm entered an agreement to be purchased by private capital firm 3G for $24 per share or nearly $4 billion, including debt.
The major averages all saw steady upside in the second half of the day, eventually ending near their best levels of the session. The Dow gained 50.63 points or 0.5 percent to end at 10,320.10, the NASDAQ advanced by 23.17 points or 1.1 percent to 2,200.01 and the S&P 500 rose by 9.81 points or 0.9 percent to 1,090.10.
In economic news, Malaysia's central bank on Thursday decided to maintain the overnight policy rate at 2.75 percent, as expected by economists. The monetary policy committee observed that the decision to retain the policy rate was consistent with the latest assessment of the economic growth and inflation prospects. The central bank expects inflation to rise at a modest pace in the coming months.
Annual consumer price inflation in Malaysia accelerated to 1.9 percent in July from 1.7 percent in June. In the second quarter, the country's economic growth eased from a decade-high recorded in the first three months of the year.
Also, Malaysia's exports increased at a slower pace in July, the Department of Statistics showed on Thursday. Exports increased 13.5 percent on an annual basis to MYR billion in July, but slower than 17.2 percent in the previous month. This was the second highest monthly export value recorded in the first seven months of 2010. Economists had expected an increase of 11.5 percent.
Imports climbed 18.1 percent year-on-year to MYR billion in July, slower than the 18.6 percent rise expected by economists'. In June, imports grew 30.1 percent.
On a monthly basis, exports and imports increased by 4.9 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively in July.
Thus, the trade balance showed a surplus of MYR 7.01 billion in July, making it the 153th consecutive month of trade surplus since November 1997. The trade surplus was wider than the MYR 6.1 billion expected by economists.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.