Malaysia Bourse Likely To Remain Rangebound On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market turned lower again on Monday, one session after snapping the two-day losing streak in which it had dropped almost 30 points or 1.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,585-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with support from the oil companies likely offset by weakness from the technology shares. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the industrials, telecoms, financials and plantations. For the day, the index skidded 16.82 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 1,585.59 after trading between 1,578.97 and 1,599.36. Among the actives, Axiata fell 0.44 percent, while Celcomdigi rose 0.27 percent, CIMB Group shed 0.98 percent, Gamuda tanked 4.20 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.57 percent, IOI Corporation dropped 1.31 percent, Maxis sank 1.10 percent, Maybank dipped 0.20 percent, MISC eased 0.14 percent, MRDIY retreated 2.22 percent, Nestle Malaysia stumbled 2.73 percent, Petronas Chemicals slid 0.42 percent, Petronas Dagangan climbed 0.84 percent, PPB Group lost 0.82 percent, Press Metal gained 0.43 percent, Public Bank collected 0.23 percent, QL Resources declined 2.17 percent, RHB Bank weakened 1.87 percent, Sime Darby tumbled 2.24 percent, SD Guthrie slumped 2.03 percent, Sunway surrendered 2.81 percent, Tenaga Nasional skidded 1.42 percent, YTL Corporation plummeted 7.63 percent, YTL Power plunged 5.88 percent and 99 Speed Mart Retail, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Telekom Malaysia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed to higher as the major averages opened on opposite sides of the unchanged line on Monday and finished in the same manner.

The Dow rallied 359.95 points or 0.86 percent to finish at 42,298.40, while the NASDAQ slumped 74.01 points or 0.39 percent to close at 19,087.62 and the S&P 500 rose 8.27 points or 0.14 percent to end at 5,835.31.

Weakness in the tech sector weighed on Wall Street early in the session, as AI darling and market leader Nvidia (NVDA) plunged by as much as 4.7 percent.

Ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates also generated negative sentiment following last Friday's stronger-than-expected monthly jobs report.

Selling pressure waned over the course of the trading session, however, leading some traders to pick up stocks at reduced levels as the S&P 500 rebounded from its lowest intraday level in over two months.

Oil prices rose sharply to a five-month high on Monday amid potential supply risks after the U.S. imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia's oil exports, while a stronger dollar also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February closed up $2.25 or nearly 3 percent at $78.82 a barrel.