FX.co ★ Malaysia Bourse May Hand Back Thursday's Gains

The Malaysian stock market showed a significant rebound on Thursday. This rebound comes just a day after its three-day winning streak was broken, during which it had accrued nearly 20 points, or 1.3 percent. Today, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index stands just above the 1,550-point mark, even though it may face more consolidation come Friday.

The global outlook for Asian markets appears somewhat on the downside because of re-emerging worries about interest rate projections. European markets saw a slight increase, while the U.S. markets faced a significant drop. It is expected that the Asian markets will follow the U.S. trend.

On Thursday, the KLCI finished significantly higher, fueled by gains from plantation, financial, and power stocks. However, the performance of telecom shares was inconsistent. The index rose 16.23 points or 1.06 percent to end at 1,553.24, after hovering between 1,537.25 and 1,554.33 parameters throughout the day.

Among active players, Axiata dropped by 0.76 percent while Celcomdigi fell by 0.47 percent. CIMB Group saw a jump of 1.37 percent, whereas Genting Malaysia increased by 0.37 percent. Both IHH Healthcare and QL Resources rose by 0.17 percent, while IOI Corporation’s stocks improved by 0.76 percent. Other significant increments were observed in Maxis (1.17 percent), Maybank (0.73 percent), MISC (0.65 percent), and Petronas Chemicals (0.15 percent).

Leading Wall Street ended on a broadly negative note, as major averages that had opened higher on Thursday plunged into the red following significant losses in the late hours of the day.

Volatility on Wall Street was further fueled by the continued surge in crude oil prices, which marked their fifth consecutive session of increase, reaching their highest levels since last October. This surge has raised concerns over persisting inflation and the Federal Reserve's potential decision to delay lowering interest rates.

On Thursday, oil prices rose yet again, extending their recent gains amidst geopolitical tensions leading to worries about supply disruptions. The West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $1.16 or 1.4 percent at $86.59 a barrel, marking their fifth straight session of increase.

Jobless claims - a key factor for interest rate forecasts - rose higher than expected last week, according to a report by the Labor Department. This rise fostered some optimism regarding interest rate outlooks, yet the likelihood of a rate cut happening in June remains uncertain.