Renewed Support Anticipated For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Monday snapped the modest two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 10 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,665-point plateau although it's likely to bounce higher again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside, largely on positive momentum amid a lack of catalysts. The European and U.S. markets were modestly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Monday following losses from the plantations and mixed performances from the financial shares and telecoms.

For the day, the index slipped 3.52 points or 0.21 percent to finish at 1,665.30 after trading between 1,658.48 and 1,671.62. Among the actives, Celcomdigi rallied 1.36 percent, while CIMB Group tumbled 1.18 percent, Genting fell 0.24 percent, Genting Malaysia and SD Guthrie both skidded 0.85 percent, IHH Healthcare was up 0.14 percent, IOI Corporation shed 0.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and QL Resources both retreated 1.06 percent, Maxis gathered 0.26 percent, Maybank advanced 0.94 percent, MISC sank 0.49 percent, MRDIY declined 1.00 percent, Petronas Chemicals gained 0.73 percent, PPB Group dropped 0.83 percent, Press Metal tanked 1.82 percent, RHB Bank perked 0.16 percent, Sime Darby improved 0.85 percent, Sunway plummeted 4.56 percent, Telekom Malaysia plunged 2.08 percent, Tenaga Nasional rose 0.68 percent, YTL Power added 0.78 percent and Axiata, Public Bank and YTL Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened slightly higher on Monday and largely remained that way throughout the session, finishing with mild gains.

The Dow added 61.29 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 42,124.65, while the NASDAQ rose 25.95 points or 0.14 percent to close at 17,974.27 and the S&P 500 gained 16.02 points or 0.28 percent to end at 5,718.57.

The modest strength on Wall Street partly reflects optimism about the outlook for the economy following the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut last week.

The Fed is expected to continue lowering rates in the coming months amid signs of slowing inflation even as the economy remains relatively strong.

Overall trading activity remains somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of some key economic data later this week.

Crude oil prices were unable to hold early gains, slumping midday on demand concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery fell $0.47 or 0.66 percent to $70.53 per barrel.