Malaysia Bourse May Extend Monday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market rebounded on Monday, one session after snapping the three-day winning streak in which it had gained almost a dozen points or 0.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just shy of the 1,630-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares, telecoms and plantations. For the day, the index gained 10.76 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 1,629.82 after trading between 1,619.19 and 1,632.69. Among the actives, Axiata surged 3.27 percent, while Celcomdigi rallied 2.22 percent, CIMB Group gathered 0.70 percent, Genting soared 2.62 percent, Genting Malaysia spiked 2.37 percent, IHH Healthcare rose 0.16 percent, IOI Corporation gained 0.81 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 0.30 percent, Maxis gained 0.28 percent, Maybank improved 1.00 percent, MISC and Hong Leong Financial both perked 0.35 percent, MRDIY climbed 1.03 percent, Petronas Chemicals dropped 0.82 percent, PPB Group added 0.84 percent, Press Metal strengthened 1.34 percent, Public Bank collected 0.49 percent, QL Resources fell 0.30 percent, RHB Capital jumped 1.61 percent, Sime Darby and Hong Leong Bank both rose 0.73 percent, Sunway increased 0.98 percent, Telekom Malaysia advanced 1.01 percent, Tenaga Nasional was up 0.14 percent, YTL Corporation sank 0.80 percent, YTL Power lost 0.40 percent and SD Guthrie and Petronas Dagangan were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and stayed that way throughout the session to hit fresh record closing highs in somewhat choppy trade.

The Dow rallied 210.82 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 40,211.72, while the NASDAQ gained 74.12 points or 0.40 percent to close at 18,472.57 and the S&P 500 rose 15.87 points or 0.28 percent to end at 5,631.22.

The support on Wall Street was due largely to comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who said that the central bank will not wait until inflation hits 2 percent to cut interest rates.

On the economic front, a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed regional manufacturing activity contracted at a slightly faster rate in July.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Monday, weighed down by weighed down by political uncertainty following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and weak economic data from China. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for August ended down $0.30 at $81.91 a barrel.