KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 16): Malaysian shares may today track Asian equity futures gains after the US' reported on Friday its September inflation data, which was below market forecast.

Such inflation sentiment led to expectation that US interest rates will rise at a slower pace. A slower pace in US interest rate hikes bodes well for Asian markets on expectation that investors will buy higher-yielding Asian assets.

On Friday (Oct 13), Reuters reported that the dollar slipped against a basket of currencies after data showed U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in September, pointing to muted inflation that could worry Federal Reserve officials. The Labor Department said on Friday its Consumer Price Index jumped 0.5 percent last month after advancing 0.4 percent in August. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.6 percent increase.

At Bursa Malaysia on Friday, the FBM KLCI rose 1.32 points to close at 1,755.32 points.

Today, Bloomberg reported that stocks pointed higher in Asia and bonds climbed after inflation data in the U.S. added to evidence that global growth is continuing steadily with limited price pressures in the American economy.

Equity-index futures in Japan and Hong Kong climbed, with a gauge of Asian stocks trading at the highest level since 2007. Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.3 percent. Contracts on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.2 percent and futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.5 percent.