Malaysia Stock Market Due For Support On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in five straight sessions, slipping almost 15 points or 1 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,440-point plateau although it's expected to find traction on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for inflation. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion on Monday.

The KLCI finished barely lower again on Friday following losses from the telecoms, support from the financials and a mixed picture from the plantation stocks.

For the day, the index dipped 0.88 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 1,441.97 after trading between 1,441.09 and 1,446.13.

Among the actives, Axiata retreated 1.27 percent, while Celcomdigi plunged 1.69 percent, Dialog Group slumped 0.51 percent, Genting dipped 0.22 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.69 percent, IOI Corporation rallied 0.76 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong was up 0.09 percent, Maxis tumbled 1.28 percent, Maybank collected 0.33 percent, Petronas Chemicals jumped 1.58 percent, PPB Group advanced 0.71 percent, Press Metal gained 0.42 percent, Public Bank dropped 0.47 percent, RHB Capital rose 0.18 percent, Sime Darby declined 0.84 percent, Sime Darby Plantations sank 0.45 percent, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.38 percent, Tenaga Nasional perked 0.10 percent and Westports Holdings, MISC, MRDIY, Genting Malaysia, CIMB Group and Petronas Gas were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages overcame early choppiness on Friday, moving solidly higher in afternoon trade to finish in the green.

The Dow rallied 130.47 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 36,247.87, while the NASDAQ gained 63.97 points or 0.45 percent to close at 14,403.97 and the S&P 500 added 18.78 points or 0.41 percent to end at 4,604.37. For the week, the Dow inched marginally higher, the S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent and the NASDAQ added 0.7 percent.

The early volatility on Wall Street followed the release of a highly anticipated Labor Department report showing stronger than expected job growth in November.

The data raised concerns that strength in the labor market could lead the Federal Reserve to delay cutting interest rates, with investors hoping the central bank would pivot to rate cuts as early as March 2024.

But buying interest was generated in reaction to a University of Michigan report showing a pullback in consumers' inflation expectations in December.

Oil spiked sharply on Friday after Saudi Arabia and Russia urged the members of OPEC to join an output cut agreement. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $1.89 or 2.7 percent at $71.23 a barrel, snapping a six-day losing streak.

Closer to home, Malaysia will see October figures for industrial production later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 2.4 percent on year following the 0.5 percent decline in September.