Malaysia Shares May Open Under Pressure Again On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, shedding almost 90 points or 5.5 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,535-point plateau and it's likely to take further damage again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is bleak on continuing concerns about the health of the U.S. economy. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower on Monday and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion again - although this selloff is quite overdone and may fade as the day progresses.

The KLCI finished sharply lower across the board on Monday, spooked by concerns over the health of the U.S. economy.

For the day, the index dropped 74.57 points or 4.63 percent to finish at 1,536.48 after trading between 1,532.24 and 1,593.36.

Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 6.38 percent, while Celcomdigi slumped 5.90 percent, CIMB Group sank 5.27 percent, Genting surrendered 6.86 percent, Genting Malaysia dropped 5.58 percent, IHH Healthcare slipped 2.88 percent, IOI Corporation gave up 2.37 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong was down 2.75 percent, Maxis weakened 5.78 percent, Maybank dipped 3.32 percent, MISC slid 3.35 percent, MRDIY contracted 4.39 percent, Petronas Chemicals tanked 7.32 percent, PPB Group shed 4.05 percent, Press Metal retreated 6.30 percent, Public Bank fell 3.50 percent, QL Resources lost 3.76 percent, RHB Capital eased 1.58 percent, Sime Darby declined 6,20 percent, SD Guthrie conceded 3.38 percent, Sunway crashed 10.17 percent, Telekom Malaysia stumbled 6.09 percent, Tenaga Nasional skidded 5.73 percent, YTL Corporation plunged 9.23 percent and YTL Power plummeted 11.36 percent

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened deep in the red on Monday and stayed that way throughout the trading day.

The Dow plummeted 1,033 .99 points or 2.60 percent to finish at 38,703.27, while the NASDAQ tanked 576.08 points or 3.43 percent to close at 16,200.08 and the S&P 500 plunged 160.23 points or 3.00 percent to end at 5,186.33.

The continued weakness on Wall Street came on concerns that the U.S. economy may slip into recession following last Friday's disappointing jobs report.

Stocks regained some ground following the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing service sector activity in the U.S. turned positive in the month of July.

Oil futures lower on Monday on concerns about the outlook for demand amid fears the U.S. economy could slip into a recession. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September sank $0.58 or 0.7 percent at $72.94 a barrel.