Malaysia Stock Market Poised To Open To The Upside On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Monday snapped the two-day slide in which it had slumped almost 20 points or 1.2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,600-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with technology and oil stocks expected to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were mostly higher and the Asian bourses are also likely to open to the upside. The KLCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the telecoms and plantations, while the financial and industrial sectors were mixed. For the day, the index improved 11.60 points or 0.73 percent to finish at 1,604.04 after trading between 1,591.49 and 1,605.41. Among the actives, Axiata rallied 1.34 percent, while Celcomdigi strengthened 1.20 percent, CIMB Group was up 0.24 percent, Genting gained 0.53 percent, Genting Malaysia jumped 1.42 percent, IHH Healthcare eased 0.14 percent, IOI Corporation accelerated 1.53 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gathered 0.46 percent, Maxis surged 3.78 percent, Maybank dipped 0.19 percent, MISC sank 0.66 percent, MRDIY added 0.55 percent, Nestle Malaysia slid 0.20 percent, Petronas Chemicals fell 0.22 percent, PPB Group dropped 0.70 percent, Press Metal skyrocketed 6.59 percent, Public Bank collected 0.67 percent, QL Resources improved 0.84 percent, RHB Bank rose 0.47 percent, Sime Darby perked 0.45 percent, SD Guthrie soared 2.29 percent, Sunway spiked 1.72 percent, Telekom Malaysia increased 0.48 percent, Tenaga Nasional climbed 1.13 percent, YTL Corporation shed 0.51 percent and YTL Power was unchanged. The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened on opposite sides of the line on Monday and maintained a fairly narrow trading range before ending mixed.

The Dow shed 55.39 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 43,389.60, while the NASDAQ climbed 111.69 points or 0.60 percent to close at 18,791.81 and the S&P 500 added 23.00 points or 0.39 percent to end at 5,893.62.

The strength on Wall Street reflected bargain hunting as traders look to pick up stocks at reduced levels following last week's steep drop amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Home Builders said homebuilder confidence has improved much more than anticipated in November, hitting its highest level since April.

Oil prices climbed higher on Monday on concerns about likely shortage in supplies due to an escalation in Russia - Ukraine war, while a weaker dollar also contributed to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December closed higher by $2.14 or 3.2 percent at 69.16 a barrel. Closer to home, Malaysia will provide October figures for imports, exports and trade balance later today; in September, imports were up 10.9 percent on year and exports dipped an annual 0.3 percent for a trade surplus of MYR13.20 billion.