Malaysia Shares Tipped To Open To The Downside Again On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in consecutive trading days, slumping almost 20 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,590-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were own and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Friday as losses from the plantations and retailers were offset by support from the financials and telecoms.

For the day, the index slipped 8.24 points or 0.51 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,592.44 after peaking at 1,604.51.

Among the actives, Axiata rallied 1.36 percent, while Celcomdigi rose 0.30 percent, CIMB Group fell 0.12 percent, Genting perked 0.27 percent, Genting Malaysia sank 0.47 percent, IHH Healthcare gained 0.42 percent, IOI Corporation skidded 0.78 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong retreated 2.23 percent, Maxis tumbled 2.27 percent, Maybank collected 0.58 percent, MISC plunged 4.40 percent, MRDIY plummeted 13.33 percent, Nestle Malaysia lost 0.30 percent, Petronas Chemicals added 0.44 percent, QL Resources tanked 2.66 percent, RHB Bank advanced 0.78 percent, Sime Darby shed 0.45 percent, SD Guthrie slumped 0.82 percent, Sunway climbed 1.09 percent, Tenaga Nasional dropped 0.70 percent, YTL Corporation stumbled 1.98 percent, YTL Power declined 1.56 percent and PPB Group, Press Metal, Public Bank and Telekom Malaysia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Friday and only weakened further as the day progressed.

The Dow plunged 305.87 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 43,444.99, while the NASDAQ plummeted 427.53 points or 2.24 percent to close at 18,680.12 and the S&P 500 dropped 78.55 points or 1.32 percent to end at 5,870.62. For the week, the NASDAQ shed 3.2 percent, the S&P sank 2.1 percent and the Dow fell 1.2 percent.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates following Federal Reserve Chair Powell's recent remarks suggesting the central bank doesn't need to hurry to lower rates. Citing the strength of the U.S. economy, Powell said the Fed can take a careful approach to future monetary policy decisions.

Potentially adding to concerns economic strength will lead the Fed to hold off on future rate cuts, the Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales increased by slightly more than expected in October.

Oil futures plummeted Friday on concerns about the outlook for demand, recent data showing an increase in U.S. crude inventories and a stronger dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December sank $1.68 or 2.45 percent at $67.02 a barrel; they shed 5 percent in the week.