Malaysia Shares May See Positive Bounce On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the eight-day losing streak in which it had lost more than 100 points or 6.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,455-point plateau although it figures to move higher again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with support expected from the technology stocks and weakness from oil companies amid recession fears. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit on Monday.

The KLCI finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the telecoms and mixed performances from the financials, plantations and glove makers.

For the day, the index dropped 16.03 points or 1.09 percent to finish at 1,456.74 after trading between 1,445.64 and 1,461.03. Volume was 3.057 billion shares worth 3.019 billion ringgit. There were 726 decliners and 267 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata slumped 1.43 percent, while CIMB Group weakened 1.99 percent, Dialog Group tumbled 2.88 percent, Digi.com declined 2.15 percent, Genting sank 1.30 percent, Genting Malaysia fell 1.06 percent, Hartalega Holdings skidded 1.40 percent, IHH Healthcare dipped 0.95 percent, INARI eased 0.75 percent, IOI Corporation rose 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong surrendered 2,66 percent, Maybank soared 1.83 percent, Maxis retreated 2.13 percent, MISC spiked 1.65 percent, MRDIY tanked 3.02 percent, Petronas Chemicals lost 1.14 percent, PPB Group plunged 3.04 percent, Press Metal plummeted 4.67 percent, Public Bank dropped 1.32 percent, RHB Capital collected 0.34 percent, Sime Darby was down 0.93 percent, Sime Darby Plantations stumbled 1.76 percent, Telekom Malaysia slid 0.98 percent, Tenaga Nasional shed 1.19 percent and Top Glove surged 3.59 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the major averages opened higher on Friday, although the Dow was unable to hold its gains.

The Dow shed 38.29 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 29,888.78, while the NASDAQ surged 152.25 points or 1.43 percent to end at 10,798.35 and the S&P 500 rose 8.07 points or 0.22 percent to close at 3,674.84. For the week, the Dow and NASDAQ both plunged 3.8 percent and the S&P tumbled 5.8 percent.

The volatility on Wall Street came amid a quadruple witching day, which refers to the expiration of stock index futures, single-stock futures, stock options and stock index options.

Traders may also have been expressing some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following Thursday's sell-off, which reflected concerns about the economic impact of aggressive monetary policy tightening.

In economic news, the Federal Reserve said industrial production increased less than expected in May, while the Conference Board showed a continued decrease by its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators last month.

Crude oil prices fell sharply Friday on mounting fears about a possible global economic recession following severe tightening of policies by several central banks. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended lower by $8.03 or 6.8 percent at $109.56 a barrel.