Malaysia Stock Market May End Losing Streak On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, slipping almost 5 points or 0.3 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,600-point plateau although it may find support on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on conflicting factors in the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished barely lower on Friday following losses from the plantations, gains from the financials and a mixed performance from the telecoms.

For the day, the index dipped 0.55 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 1,600.67 after trading between 1,599.84 and 1,604.07.

Among the actives, Axiata dropped 1.06 percent, while Celcomdigi and Public Bank both perked 0.24 percent, CIMB Group and Maybank both collected 0.30 percent, Genting added 0.66 percent, Genting Malaysia rose 0.38 percent, IHH Healthcare gathered 0.32 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong skidded 1.13 percent, Maxis jumped 1.98 percent, MISC sank 0.37 percent, MRDIY gained 0.56 percent, Petronas Chemicals slumped1.29 percent, PPB Group tumbled 2.03 percent, Press Metal increased 0.19 percent, QL Resources improved 0.31 percent, RHB Capital was up 0.18 percent, Sime Darby and AMMB Holdings both advanced 0.71 percent, Sime Darby Plantations retreated 1.31 percent, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.16 percent, Tenaga Nasional shed 0.32 percent, YTL Corporation lost 0.29 percent and YTL Power, IOI Corporation, Hong Leong Bank and Petronas Dagangan were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened higher on Friday, gave ground and finished mixed and little changed.

The Dow added 125.08 points or 0.3 percent to finish at 39,512.84, while the NASDAQ dipped 5.40 points or 0.1 percent to close at 16,340.87 and the S&P 500 rose 8.60 points or 0.2 percent to end at 5,222.68.

For the week, the NASDAQ jumped by 1.14 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Dow surged by 1.85 percent and 2.16 percent, respectively.

The early strength on Wall Street partly reflected recently renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates. Recent data has pointed to some softness in the U.S. labor market, increasing investor confidence the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in the coming months.

However, the early buying interest was partly offset by a report from the University of Michigan showing a sharp drop in U.S. consumer sentiment in May. The report also showed a notable increase in year-ahead inflation expectations.

Crude oil prices fell on Friday, on concerns the Federal Reserve may keep interest rates higher for a longer period, and uncertainty about the outlook for oil demand due to signs of slowing economic growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June sank $1.00 at $78.26 a barrel.