Malaysia Shares Tipped To Open To The Downside

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in consecutive trading days, shedding almost 15 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,610-point plateau and it's likely to take further damage again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is brutal on concerns of an economic slowdown in the United States. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the telecoms and plantations, while the financial shares came in mixed.

For the day, the index sank 13.20 points or 0.81 percent to finish at 1,611.05 after trading between 1,607.75 and 1,619.31.

Among the actives, Axiata declined 2.08 percent, while Celcomdigi slid 0.53 percent, CIMB Group slipped 0.40 percent, Genting tumbled 2.59 percent, Genting Malaysia retreated 2.44 percent, Hong Leong Bank perked 0.10 percent, IHH Healthcare dropped 1.11 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Maybank both were down 0.19 percent, Maxis fell 0.57 percent, MISC weakened 1.48 percent, MRDIY stumbled 1.91 percent, Nestle Malaysia climbed 1.38 percent, Petronas Chemicals lost 0.69 percent, Petronas Dagangan rallied 2.09 percent, Petronas Gas added 0.11 percent, PPB Group gave away 0.27 percent, Press Metal plunged 4.15 percent, Public Bank collected 0.47 percent, QL Resources dipped 0.30 percent, RHB Capital eased 0.17 percent, Sime Darby skidded 1.15 percent, SD Guthrie contracted 0.45 percent, Sunway surrendered 2.89 percent, Telekom Malaysia sank 1.00 percent, Tenaga Nasional shed 0.99 percent, YTL Corporation tanked 3.85 percent, YTL Power plummeted 4.47 percent and IOI Corporation was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened sharply lower on Friday and remained well under water throughout the trading day.

The Dow plummeted 610.74 points or 1.51 percent to finish at 39,737.26, while the NASDAQ tumbled 417.94 points or 2.43 percent to close at 16,776.16 and the S&P dropped 100.12 points or 1.84 percent to end at 5,346.56. For the week, the NASDAQ plummeted 3.4 percent, and the S&P 500 and the Dow both shed 2.1 percent.

Concerns about the outlook for the U.S. economy continued to weigh on Wall Street following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing employment increased by much less than expected in the month of July.

While weaker than expected economic data has been a positive for the markets amid expectations it would convince the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, traders are concerned the Fed has waited too long and could spur a U.S. recession.

Negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to the latest earnings news, with companies like Intel (INTC) and online retail giant Amazon (AMZN) leading the way lower.

Crude oil prices fell sharply to a two-month low on Friday, sliding for a second successive session on rising concerns about the outlook for demand due to slowing growth in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September fell $2.79 or 3.66 percent at $73.52 a barrel.