Malaysia Stock Market May Remain Stuck In Neutral

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Monday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had risen almost 20 points or 1.1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,720-point plateau and it figures to remain in that neighborhood again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the major averages is soft on concerns over the outlook for interest rates and on the continuing conflict in the Middle East. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and telecoms.

For the day, the index slipped 9.16 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 1,722.29 after trading between 1,720.05 and 1,733.76.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Monday but gradually sank into the red as the day progressed, ending at session lows.

The Dow tumbled 307.16 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 51,839.26, while the NASDAQ dipped 12.17 points or 0.05 percent to close at 25,508.07 and the S&P 500 eased 14.41 points or 0.19 percent to end at 7,443.28.

The early strength on Wall Street came as traders looked up to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following the notable pullback seen over the two previous sessions.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as concerns the escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran led to a surge by treasury yields and worries about the outlook for interest rates.

In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board released a report showing a modest decline by its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators in June.

Crude oil prices edged higher on Monday as the U.S. and Iran continue to attack each other even as both sides appear ready to renew diplomatic efforts to halt the conflict. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $0.39 or 0.47 percent at $82.88 per barrel.