Malaysia Bourse May Hand Back Friday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had given up more than 30 points or 2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,665-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to lower on concerns over the situation in the Middle East and on the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were barely in the red and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares and plantations.

For the day, the index rose 3.92 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 1,667.74 after trading between 1,659.74 and 1,668.75.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail sank 0.84 percent, while AMMB Holdings dropped 0.93 percent, Axiata jumped 1.44 percent, Celcomdigi shed 0.37 percent, CIMB Group gathered 0.27 percent, Hong Leong Bank slipped 0.28 percent, IHH Healthcare lost 0.35 percent, IOI Corporation gained 0.47 percent, IOI Properties plummeted 4.20 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rose 0.38 percent, Maxis soared 2.65 percent, Maybank climbed 0.75 percent, MISC vaulted 1.28 percent, MRDIY slumped 1.21 percent, Nestle Malaysia perked 0.23 percent, Petronas Chemicals rallied 2.55 percent, Petronas Dagangan strengthened 1.09 percent, Petronas Gas increased 0.57 percent, PPB Group fell 0.32 percent, Press Metal skidded 1.16 percent, Public Bank collected 0.42 percent, RHB Bank advanced 0.74 percent, SD Guthrie added 0.50 percent, Sunway tanked 1.36 percent, Sunway Health tumbled 1.66 percent, Telekom Malaysia retreated 1.19 percent, Tenaga Nasional improved 0.70 percent, YTL Corporation expanded 1.00 percent, YTL Power was up 0.24 percent and Gamuda was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Friday, peeked back above the unchanged line by midday but slumped again heading into the close.

The Dow shed 44.51 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 51,876.11, while the NASDAQ sank 60.99 points or 0.24 percent to close at 25,297.62 and the S&P 500 eased 3.47 points or 0.05 percent to end at 7,354.02.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came un the ambiguity surrounding the peace process in the U.S.-Iran conflict, while the earlier positive bounce was the result of sliding crude oil prices.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Friday as optimism increases on resumption of oil flow from the Arab region. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was down $2.60 or 3.62 percent at $69.32 per barrel.

In economic news, revised data released by the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment in the U.S. rebounded slightly more than estimated in June. The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index for June was upwardly revised to 49.5 from the previously reported 48.9.