Malaysia Stock Market May Reclaim 1,600-Point Level

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, slipping almost 15 points or 0.9 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just shy of the 1,600-point plateau although it's likely to bounce higher on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished barely lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, gains from the telecoms and mixed performances from the plantations.

For the day, the index eased 0.70 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 1,598.23 after trading between 1,595.68 and 1,600.40. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail rallied 1.54 percent, while Axiata soared 2.26 percent, Celcomdigi spiked 1.88 percent, CIMB Group stumbled 1.23 percent, Gamuda retreated 1.08 percent, IHH Healthcare gathered 0.27 percent, IOI Corporation and Petronas Dagangan both perked 0.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong sank 0.30 percent, Maxis increased 0.55 percent, Maybank slumped 0.81 percent, MISC added 0.53 percent, MRDIY plummeted 3.09 percent, Nestle Malaysia shed 0.29 percent, Petronas Chemicals jumped 1.62 percent, Petronas Gas climbed 1.20 percent, Press Metal fell 0.18 percent, Public Bank lost 0.24 percent, QL Resources dropped 0.90 percent, RHB Bank was up 0.15 percent, Sime Darby surged 2.38 percent, Sunway improved 0.56 percent, Telekom Malaysia gained 0.43 percent, Tenaga Nasional advanced 0.75 percent, YTL Corporation rose 0.37 percent, YTL Power plunged 2.34 percent and AMMB Holdings, PPB Group and SD Guthrie were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the session, hitting fresh record closing highs.

The Dow jumped 172.85 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 46,315.27, while the NASDAQ climbed 160.75 points or 0.72 percent to end at 22,631.48 and the S&P 500 added 32.40 points or 0.49 percent to close at 6,664.36.

For the week, the NASDAQ surged 2.2 percent, while the S&P gained 1.2 percent and the Dow rose 1.1 percent.

Optimism about lower interest rates has contributed to the strength on Wall Street, with the Federal Reserve cutting rates by a quarter point on Wednesday and signaling two more rate cuts this year.

Overall trading activity appeared somewhat subdued, however, as a lack of major U.S. economic data kept some traders on the sidelines.

Crude oil dropped on Friday as traders dissected the Federal Reserve's message, hinting at underlying risks to the economy and stoking demand concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was down $0.91 or 1.43 percent at $62.66 per barrel.