Malaysia Stock Market May See Continued Consolidation

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Monday ended the seven-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 40 points or 2.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,700-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower amid weakness from technology shares and concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mixed to lower and the Asian bourses figure to also open to the downside.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, while the plantations, telecoms and industrials were mixed.

For the day, the index shed 11.19 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 1,700.84 after trading between 1,699.94 and 1,712.32.

Among the actives, AMMB Holdings eased 0.15 percent, while Axiata climbed 1.00 percent, Celcomdigi tanked 1.43 percent, CIMB Group slipped 0.26 percent, Gamuda fell 0.45 percent, IHH Healthcare declined 1.02 percent, IOI Corporation tumbled 1.39 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong shed 0.48 percent, Maxis retreated 1.17 percent, Maybank crashed 1.97 percent, MISC rose 0.12 percent, Nestle Malaysia contracted 0.96 percent, Petronas Chemicals cratered 4.90 percent, Petronas Dagangan perked 0.11 percent, Petronas Gas lost 0.46 percent, PPB Group plummeted 4.94 percent, Press Metal sank 0.70 percent, Public Bank skidded 1.01 percent, RHB Bank dropped 0.95 percent, Sime Darby plunged 3.11 percent, SD Guthrie vaulted 1.33 percent, Sunway stumbled 1.13 percent, Sunway Health rallied 2.22 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 0.27 percent, YTL Corporation soared 2.49 percent, YTL Power jumped 1.45 percent and 99 Speed Mart Retail, MRDIY and Tenaga Nasional were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened slightly higher but quickly headed south before finishing mixed.

The Dow climbed 148.01 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 51,712.71, while the NASDAQ tumbled 351.33 points or 1.32 percent to close at 26,166.60 and the S&P 500 sank 27.79 points or 0.37 percent to end at 7,472.79.

The slump by the NASDAQ came amid weakness among technology stocks, with shares of SpaceX (SPCX) plummeting by 16.4 percent. An increase by treasury yields weighed on tech stocks, as the yield on the two-year note reaches its highest levels in over a year.

Concerns about the outlook for interest rates drove yields higher ahead of the release of key inflation data later in the week.

Traders seem worried that an acceleration in the pace of inflation as a result of President Donald Trump's war with Iran could lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates later this year.

Crude oil prices plunged on Monday even though the Iranian military says it has again closed off the Strait of Hormuz, although there are reports of commercial vessels are operating freely in the strait. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $1.63 or 2.13 percent at $74.97 per barrel.