Rally May Stall For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, collecting almost 15 points or 1 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,615-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to lower ahead of the U.S. presidential election and the Federal Reserve rate decision this week. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion. The KLCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the telecoms, plantations and industrials, while the financial sector was mixed. For the day, the index added 12.45 points or 0.78 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,616.43 after trading as low as 1,607.75. Among the actives, Axiata jumped 1.73 percent, while Celcomdigi perked 0.11 percent, CIMB Group advanced 1.13 percent, Genting rose 0.76 percent, Genting Malaysia was up 0.44 percent, IHH Healthcare gathered 0.69 percent, IOI Corporation surged 3.39 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong soared 2.79 percent, Maxis perked 0.55 percent, Maybank collected 0.38 percent, MISC strengthened 1.59 percent, MRDIY gained 0.90 percent, Nestle Malaysia rallied 1.80 percent, Petronas Chemicals accelerated 1.86 percent, PPB Group climbed 1.43 percent, Public Bank dropped 0.90 percent, QL Resources added 0.42 percent, RHB Bank rose 0.31 percent, Sunway improved 1.38 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 1.08 percent, Tenaga Nasional increased 1.29 percent, YTL Corporation skyrocketed 4.02 percent, YTL Power spiked 1.87 percent and Sime Darby, SD Guthrie and Press Metal were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Monday, hugged the line for much of the day and finished in the red.

The Dow stumbled 257.59 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 41,794.60, while the NASDAQ shed 59.93 points or 0.33 percent to close at 18,179.98 and the S&P 500 sank 16.11 points or 0.28 percent to end at 5,712.69.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the U.S. elections on Tuesday, as Vice President Kamala Harris faces off against former President Donald Trump.

With polls showing an extremely tight race between Harris and Trump, the outcome of the presidential election may not be known on Election Day.

Traders were also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision, which is due to be announced on Thursday. The Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by another 25 basis points, but traders will be looking to the accompanying statement for clues about the likelihood of future rate cuts.

Oil prices rose sharply on Monday, buoyed by OPEC's decision to delay plans to increase production, and on rising concerns about tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for December closed up $1.98 or about 2.85% at $71.47 a barrel, extending gains to a fourth straight session.