Malaysia Bourse May Extend Monday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Monday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up almost 15 points or 0.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,645-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative with profit taking likely for many of the regions. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead. The KLCI finished barely lower on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks, industrials and telecoms. For the day, the index eased 0.31 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 1,645.68 after trading between 1,642.52 and 1,648.05. Among the actives, Celcomdigi slumped 0.83 percent, while CIMB Group collected 0.61 percent, Genting added 0.49 percent, IHH Healthcare perked 0.14 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong retreated 0.94 percent, Maxis dropped 0.54 percent, MISC increased 0.52 percent, MRDIY tumbled 1.36 percent, Nestle Malaysia tanked 1.64 percent, Petronas Chemicals jumped 1.07 percent, Petronas Dagangan rallied 2.23 percent, Petronas Gas climbed 0.91 percent, PPB Group improved 0.70 percent, Press Metal advanced 0.83 percent, RHB Bank fell 0.16 percent, Sime Darby sank 0.41 percent, SD Guthrie gained 0.21 percent, Sunway lost 0.22 percent, Telekom Malaysia rose 0.15 percent, Tenaga Nasional shed 0.27 percent, YTL Corporation plummeted 3.03 percent, YTL Power plunged 2.56 percent and Axiata, Public Bank, QL Resources, Genting Malaysia, IOI Corporation and Maybank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed to soft as the major averages opened lower on Monday and largely stayed that way, although the NASDAQ broke into the green late in the day.

The Dow stumbled 344.25 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 42,931.25, while the NASDAQ gained 50.45 points or 0.27 percent to close at 18,540.01 and the S&P 500 fell 10.69 points or 0.18 percent to end at 5,853.98.

The mixed performance on Wall Street came as profit taking brought the Dow down from a record closing high, while tech shares boosted the NASDAQ to a three-month closing high.

Overall trading activity was relatively subdued as traders looked ahead to the release of a slew of corporate earnings news from big-name companies later this week.

In economic news, the Conference Board said its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by more than expected in the month of September.

Oil prices moved higher on Monday on possible disruptions in supplies due to escalating tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended up by $1.34 or 1.94 percent at $70.56 a barrel.