Malaysia Shares May Find Traction On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, sinking more than 20 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index new rests just above the 1,490-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed, with bargain hunting offset by ongoing concerns over the outlook for the global economy. The European markets were sharply higher and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished barely lower on Friday as losses from the plantations were mitigated by support from the glove makers, while the telecoms and financials were mixed.

For the day, the index eased 0.77 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 1,491.18 after trading between 1,489.23 and 1,498.61. Volume was 2.179 billion shares worth 1.573 billion ringgit. There were 475 decliners and 316 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata rose 0.34 percent, while CIMB Group gained 0.36 percent, Dialog Group plummeted 2.17 percent, Digi.com skidded 0.28 percent, Genting shed 0.22 percent, Genting Malaysia slumped 0.34 percent, Hartalega Holdings surged 3.75 percent, IHH Healthcare declined 0.49 percent, IOI Corporation dropped 0.24 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong sank 0.27 percent, Maybank collected 0.22 percent, Maxis advanced 0.54 percent, MISC fell 0.14 percent, MRDIY tumbled 1.42 percent, Petronas Chemicals and Tenaga Nasional both eased 0.11 percent, PPB Group jumped 1.04 percent, Press Metal plunged 1.91 percent, Public Bank perked 0.21 percent, RHB Capital retreated 0.35 percent, Sime Darby soared 1.75 percent, Sime Darby Plantations tanked 1.66 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 0.51 percent, Top Glove rallied 0.62 percent and INARI was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened higher on Friday but tumbled in afternoon trade to finish deep in the red.

The Dow plummeted 337.98 points or 1.07 percent to finish at 31,318.44, while the NASDAQ tumbled 154.26 points or 1.31 percent to close at 11,630.86 and the S&P 500 sank 42.59 points or 1.07 percent to end at 3,924.26.

The volatility on Wall Street followed the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing U.S. employment increased roughly in line with estimates in August.

Amid recent concerns about the outlook for interest rates, the jobs data was described as a goldilocks report by some economists, coming in neither too hot nor too cold.

A separate report from the Commerce Department unexpectedly showed a sharp pullback in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in July.

Crude oil prices ticked higher Friday on rising prospects for a reduction in output from OPEC and allies. But prices were down for the week amid worries about outlook for energy demand due to concerns about slowing global growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September rose $0.26 or 0.3 percent at $86.87 a barrel; they were down 6.7 percent in the week.