Malaysia Bourse Likely To Remain Rangebound On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, slipping more than 10 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,575-point plateau and it may tick lower again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky amid a cloudy outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the plantations and industrials, while the financials and telecoms were mixed.

For the day, the index fell 4.71 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 1,576.34 after trading between 1,571.19 and 1,581.79.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail skidded 0.83 percent, while AMMB Holdings gained 0.36 percent, Axiata improved 0.75 percent, Celcomdigi and Kuala Lumpur Kepong both plunged 1.82 percent, CIMB Group collected 0.69 percent, Gamuda was down 0.18 percent, Hong Leong Bank added 0.51 percent, IHH Healthcare tumbled 1.16 percent, IOI Corporation dropped 0.78 percent, Maxis declined 0.85 percent, Maybank slipped 0.41 percent, MISC eased 0.13 percent, MRDIY jumped 1.30 percent, Nestle Malaysia dipped 0.34 percent, Petronas Chemicals plummeted 2.20 percent, Petronas Dagangan shed 0.62 percent, PPB Group retreated 0.89 percent, Press Metal sank 0.71 percent, QL Resources tanked 1.42 percent, RHB Bank rose 0.16 percent, Sime Darby climbed 1.20 percent, SD Guthrie stumbled 1.41 percent, Sunway slumped 0.84 percent, Telekom Malaysia slid 0.42 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.44 percent, YTL Corporation advanced 0.78 percent, YTL Power lost 0.47 percent and Petronas Gas and Public Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened mixed on Friday and stayed that way throughout the session, ending on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

The Dow added 34.82 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 44,946.12, while the NASDAQ sank 87.72 points or 0.40 percent to close at 21,622.98 and the S&P 500 fell 18.74 points or 0.29 percent to end at 6,449.80. For the week, the NASDAQ added 0.8 percent, the S&P gained 0.9 percent and the Dow jumped 1.7 percent.

The weakness in the broader markets followed the release of mixed batch of U.S. economic data, which has led to some uncertainty about the outlook for the economy and interest rates.

While the Commerce Department said retail sales increased in line with estimates in July, the University of Michigan noted an unexpected deterioration in consumer sentiment in August.

On the inflation front, year-ahead inflation expectations jumped to 4.9 percent in August from 4.5 in July, while the Labor Department said import prices increased more than expected last month and the Federal Reserve saw a slight pullback by industrial production in July.

Crude oil traded lower on Friday ahead of the meeting between the presidents of the U.S. and Russia, which ultimately accomplished nothing. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $1.20 or 1.88 percent at $62.76 per barrel.