Malaysia Stock Market Expected To Remain Rangebound On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market bounced higher again on Monday, one session after snapping the six-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 45 points or 3.4 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,460-point plateau and it's likely to hold steady in that neighborhood again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic amidst a lack of major catalysts. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses saw mild upside, and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The KLCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares, plantations and telecoms. For the day, the index added 9.08 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 1,459.43 after trading between 1,451.07 and 1,464.70.

Among the actives, Axiata added 0.75 percent, while Celcomdigi increased 0.45 percent, CIMB Group strengthened 0.91 percent, Dialog Group surged 2.22 percent, Genting fell 0.23 percent, Genting Malaysia advanced 0.78 percent, IHH Healthcare rallied 1.02 percent, IOI Corporation jumped 0.97 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong improved 0.52 percent, Maxis perked 0.25 percent, Maybank rose 0.33 percent, MRDIY tumbled 2.00 percent, Petronas Chemicals spiked 1.46 percent, PPB Group soared 1.83 percent, Press Metal climbed 0.80 percent, Public Bank collected 0.72 percent, RHB Capital gained 0.53 percent, Sime Darby accelerated 1.40 percent, Telekom Malaysia and Hong Leong Bank both were up 0.20 percent, Tenaga Nasional gathered 0.31 percent, Westports Holdings shed 0.28 percent and MISC, Sime Darby Plantations, Petronas Dagangan and Petronas Gas were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up slightly positive after a volatile session that saw the major averages bounce back and forth across the unchanged line throughout the day. The Dow climbed 100.57 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 35,559.86, while the NASDAQ added 29.37 points or 0.21 percent to close at 14,346.02 and the S&P 500 rose 6.76 points or 0.15 percent to end at 4,588.99.

Traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves as they await the release of key economic data in the coming days, including the closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

In U.S. economic news, MNI Indicators released a report showing Chicago-area business activity contracted at a slightly slower rate in the month of July.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Monday and the oil futures contract posted the biggest monthly gain in over a year amid signs of tight supply and optimism over increased demand in the U.S. and China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $1.22 or 1.5 percent at $81.80 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained 16 percent in July.