Malaysia Shares May Find Support On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, sinking almost 15 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,615-point plateau although it's likely to find traction on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index fell 4.55 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 1,616.52 after trading between 1,609.67 and 1,621.25. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail dropped 0.85 percent, while AMMB Holdings dipped 0.16 percent, Axiata plummeted 5.97 percent, Celcomdigi dipped 0.30 percent, CIMB Group was down 0.13 percent, Gamuda jumped 1.75 percent, IHH Healthcare advanced 1.08 percent, IOI Corporation added 0.49 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.10 percent, Maxis stumbled 2.33 percent, Maybank and Press Metal both shed 0.59 percent, MISC slumped 1.20 percent, MRDIY tanked 2.65 percent, Nestle Malaysia plunged 3.20 percent, Petronas Chemicals contracted 1.22 percent, Petronas Dagangan retreated 2.12 percent, Petronas Gas slipped 0.35 percent, PPB Group skidded 0.97 percent, QL Resources sank 0.74 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.41 percent, Sime Darby tumbled 1.55 percent, SD Guthrie lost 0.38 percent, Sunway fell 0.37 percent, Telekom Malaysia declined 1.39 percent, Tenaga Nasional climbed 1.12 percent, YTL Corporation gained 0.47 percent, YTL Power rallied 1.23 percent and Public Bank and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and bounced up and down all day but always remained in the green.

The Dow added 104.05 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 47,954.99, while the NASDAQ gained 72.99 points or 0.31 percent to close at 23,578.13 and the S&P 500 rose 13.28 points or 0.19 percent to end at 6,870.40.

For the week, the NASDAQ added 0.9 percent, the Dow climbed 0.5 percent and the S&P rose 0.3 percent.

The modest strength on Wall Street followed the release of closely watched consumer price inflation data that was in line with estimates, reinforcing recent optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool is indicating an 87.2 percent chance the Fed will lower interest rates by another quarter point this week.

Crude oil prices edged higher on Friday on persistent geopolitical tension due to the Russia-Ukraine war and the U.S.-Venezuela standoff. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up $0.35 or 0.59 percent at $60.02 per barrel.