Malaysia Stock Market May Add To Its Winnings On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Friday ended the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than 10 points or 0.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,450-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting expected after heavy selling last week, especially among the oil and technology stocks. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financials, mixed performances from the telecoms and plantations and weakness from the glove makers.

For the day, the index perked 5.52 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 1,449.74 after trading between 1,441.62 and 1,452.32. Volume was 1.494 billion shares worth 1.155 billion ringgit. There were 468 decliners and 297 gainers.

Among the actives, CIMB Group and Sime Darby both spiked 1.41 percent, while Dialog Group lost 0.47 percent, Digi.com surged 4.00 percent, Genting advanced 0.88 percent, Genting Malaysia improved 0.35 percent, Hartalega Holdings plummeted 10.46 percent, IHH Healthcare gathered 0.47 percent, INARI tanked 1.52 percent, IOI Corporation soared 1.56 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 0.73 percent, Maybank collected 0.35 percent, Maxis increased 0.30 percent, MISC was up 0.28 percent, MRDIY shed 0.48 percent, Petronas Chemicals rallied 0.89 percent, Press Metal tumbled 1.26 percent, Public Bank jumped 1.14 percent, Sime Darby Plantations fell 0.23 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 0.76 percent, Tenaga Nasional rose 0.25 percent, Top Glove plunged 2.88 percent and Axiata, RHB Capital and PPB Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks shook off early listlessness on Friday, accelerating in the second half to finish near session highs.

The Dow spiked 321.86 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 31,097.26, while the NASDAQ jumped 99.14 points or 0.90 percent to close at 11,127.84 and the S&P 500 soared 39.95 points or 1.06 percent to end at 3,825.33.

For the week, the NASDAQ plunged 4.1 percent, the S&P sank 2.2 percent and the Dow dropped 1.3 percent.

The higher close on Wall Street came as traders went bargain hunting following early session selling. Concerns about the possibility of tighter monetary policy triggering a global recession also weigh on the markets in early trading.

Stocks fell under pressure following a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing U.S. manufacturing activity slowed more than expected in June, while a separate report from the Commerce Department showed U.S. construction spending unexpectedly edged lower in May.

Crude oil prices moved higher Friday on concerns about supply outages in Libya and shutdowns in Norway caused by striking workers. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $2.67 or 2.5 percent at $108.43 a barrel. WTI crude oil futures rose 1 percent in the week.