Malaysia Stock Market May End Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Monday's holiday for Agong's birthday, the Malaysia stock market had moved lower in six straight trading days, sinking almost 35 points or 2.1 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,600-point plateau although it's expected to stop the bleeding on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside ahead of key data later in the week, although slumping oil prices may cap the upside. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets are likely to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the plantation stocks and mixed performances from the financial shares and telecoms.

For the day, the index shed 7.58 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 1,596.68 after trading between 1,595.36 and 1,612.31.

Among the actives, AMMB Holdings added 0.71 percent, while Axiata rallied 1.08 percent, Celcomdigi surrendered 2.06 percent, Dialog Group tumbled 2.05 percent, Genting retreated 1.86 percent, Genting Malaysia plummeted 5.36 percent, Inari plunged 3.27 percent, IOI Corporation stumbled 1.29 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong tanked 2.80 percent, Maxis skidded 0.82 percent, Maybank gained 0.30 percent, MISC advanced 0.72 percent, MRDIY sank 0.55 percent, Petronas Dagangan jumped 1.96 percent, Petronas Gas was up 0.33 percent, PPB Group perked 0.14 percent, Press Metal and RHB Capital both rose 0.18 percent, Public Bank collected 0.49 percent, QL Resources declined 1.56 percent, SD Guthrie lost 0.23 percent, Telekom Malaysia dropped 0.80 percent, Tenaga Nasional slumped 1.06 percent and Petronas Chemicals, Sime Darby, CIMB Group, IHH Healthcare, Nestle Malaysia and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened higher on Monday but quickly turned lower and spent most of the day in the red before a late push saw them end mixed and little changed.

The Dow slumped 115.29 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 38,571.03, while the NASDAQ added 93.65 points or 0.56 percent to close at 16,828.67 and the S&P 500 rose 5.89 points or 0.11 percent to end at 5,283.40.

Investors locked in recent gains in the first half of the day, consolidating positions ahead of key data later in the week. Late bargain hunting boosted the averages going into the close.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said that manufacturing activity in the U.S. unexpectedly contracted at a slightly faster rate in May. Also, the U.S. Census Bureau said U.S. construction spending unexpectedly shrunk in April.

Oil prices fell to a four-month low on Monday after OPEC said it will begin phasing out voluntary production cuts over the next year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down by $2.77 or about 3.6 percent at $74.22 a barrel.