Higher Open Anticipated For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Monday's holiday for Agong's birthday, the Malaysia stock market had moved lower in four straight sessions, slumping almost 25 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,380-point plateau although it's tipped to open in the green Tuesday as it catches up on missed sentiment.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking anticipated. The European and U.S. markets finished under water and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Friday following losses from the financials, gains from the plantations and a mixed picture from the telecoms.

For the day, the index dipped 1.75 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 1,381.26 after trading between 1,376.78 and 1,385.82.

Among the actives, Celcomdigi spiked 2.28 percent, while CIMB Group retreated 1.03 percent, Dialog Group jumped 1.44 percent, Genting improved 0.96 percent, Genting Malaysia strengthened 1.20 percent, IHH Healthcare slumped 0.70 percent, Inari soared 2.42 percent, IOI Corporation climbed 1.08 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong increased 0.95 percent, Maxis tumbled 1.44 percent, Maybank fell 0.23 percent, MISC gained 0.84 percent, MRDIY surged 2.58 percent, Petronas Chemicals added 0.92 percent, PPB Group declined 1.01 percent, Press Metal advanced 1.06 percent, Public Bank stumbled 1.31 percent, QL Resources plummeted 3.12 percent, RHB Capital lost 0.38 percent, Sime Darby rallied 1.47 percent, Telekom Malaysia sank 0.39 percent, Tenaga Nasional dropped 0.42 percent and Axiata and Sime Darby Plantations were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up negative as the major averages opened higher on Monday, but a late slump sent them all into the red the close.

The Dow tumbled 199.90 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 33,562.86, while the NASDAQ slipped 11.34 points or 0.09 percent to close at 13,229.43 and the S&P 500 fell 8.58 points or 0.20 percent to end at 4,273.79.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as some traders looked to take a break after the passage of legislation raising the U.S. debt ceiling and the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report.

Trading activity may remain somewhat subdued this week as traders look ahead to next week's Federal Reserve meeting; the Fed is widely expected to pause its recent series of interest rate hikes.

In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said service sector activity in the U.S. saw only modest growth last month, with the index of activity in the sector falling by more than expected. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured goods increased less than expected in April.

Crude oil prices settled higher Monday after Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude exporter, pledged to cut its production by another 1 million barrels per day in July. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended higher by $0.41 or 0.6 percent at $72.15 a barrel, off the intra-day high of $75.06.