Win Streak Expected To End For Malaysia Shares

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has climbed higher in five straight sessions, improving more than 45 points or 2.7 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just shy of the 1,640-point plateau, although investors figure to lock in gains on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking expected by the year's end - especially among the technology stocks. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished modestly higher again on Monday following gains from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index added 9.54 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 1,637.68 after trading between 1,624.92 and 1,638.56.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail rallied 1.62 percent, while Axiata rose 0.42 percent, Celcomdigi strengthened 1.37 percent, Gamuda soared 1.92 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong perked 0.09 percent, Maybank collected 1.39 percent, MISC climbed 1.33 percent, MRDIY lost 0.54 percent, Nestle Malaysia surged 3.05 percent, Petronas Chemicals jumped 1.80 percent, PPB Group increased 0.81 percent, Press Metal and SD Guthrie both gathered 0.20 percent, Public Bank sank 0.66 percent, Sime Darby gained 0.43 percent, Sunway improved 1.26 percent, Telekom Malaysia advanced 0.74 percent, Tenaga Nasional added 0.68 percent, YTL Corporation spiked 1.91 percent, YTL Power accelerated 1.86 percent and IHH Healthcare, IOI Corporation, QL Resources, RHB Bank, Maxis and CIMB Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Monday and remained in the red throughout the trading day.

The Dow tumbled 418.48 points or 0.97 percent to finish at 42,573.73, while the NASDAQ slumped 235.25 points or 1.19 percent to close at 19.486.79 and the S&P 500 sank 63.90 points or 1.07 percent to end at 5,906.94.

The weakness on Wall Street marked an extension of the sell-off seen last Friday, with traders taking profits going into the end of the year. The major averages still remain poised to post substantial gains for 2024, however, as the tech-heavy NASDAQ is up nearly 30 percent for the year.

Technology stocks climbed off their worst levels after helping lead the early slump but still ended the day notably lower. Significant weakness was visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent loss posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

The sell-off on Wall Street may have been exaggerated by below average volume, as many traders remain away from their desks ahead of the New Year's Day holiday on Wednesday.

Oil prices rose to a five-week high on Monday, continuing to benefit from recent data showing a larger than expected drop in crude inventories in the U.S. Expectations of increased demand from China contributed as well to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for February rose 0.6 percent to $70.99 a barrel.