Malaysia Stock Market Poised To End Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, slumping more than 15 points or 1 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,615-point plateau although it figures to stop the bleeding on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were solidly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Friday following losses from the telecoms and mixed performances from the financial shares and plantation stocks.

For the day, the index eased 2.30 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 1,612.88 after trading between 1,610.65 and 1,616.83.

Among the actives, Axiata plunged 1.65 percent, while Celcomdigi lost 0.27 percent, CIMB Group sank 0.28 percent, Genting Malaysia gained 0.39 percent, IOI Corporation retreated 0.79 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong perked 0.10 percent, MISC and Hong Leong Financial both were up 0.12 percent, MRDIY jumped 1.49 percent, Nestle Malaysia plummeted 5.00 percent, Petronas Chemicals slumped 0.50 percent, PPB Group advanced 0.83 percent, Press Metal improved 0.77 percent, QL Resources skidded 0.45 percent, RHB Capital eased 0.18 percent, Sime Darby tanked 1.15 percent, SD Guthrie tumbled 0.89 percent, Sunway added 0.47 percent, Telekom Malaysia rose 0.29 percent, Tenaga Nasional increased 0.14 percent, YTL Corporation declined 0.56 percent and YTL Power, Maxis, Maybank, Genting, Public Bank, IHH Healthcare and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow surged 654.27 points or 1.64 percent to finish at 40,589.34, while the NASDAQ rallied 176.16 points or 1.03 percent and the S&P 500 gained 59.88 points or 1.11 percent.

For the week, the Dow added 0.8 percent, the NASDAQ slumped 2.1 percent and the S&P fell 0.8 percent.

The strength on Wall Street came as the release of closely watched inflation data by the Commerce Department added to confidence about an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September.

The University of Michigan also released revised data showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated less than previously estimated in July.

Oil prices fell on Friday amid concerns about the outlook for demand due to the economic slowdown in China, while hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $1.12 or 1.4 percent at $77.16 a barrel. WTI crude futures lost 1.9 percent in the week.