Malaysia Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, sinking more than 30 points or 2.1 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,440-point plateau although it figures to find support on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with support expected from the financials, technology stocks and oil companies. The European markets were solidly higher and the U.S. bourses were off on holiday and the Asian markets figure to open in the green.

The KLCI finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and plantation stocks, while the telecoms and glove makers were mixed.

For the day, the index dropped 15.50 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 1,441.24 after trading between 1,437.23 and 1,454.40. Volume was 2.623 billion shares worth 1.691 billion ringgit. There were 747 decliners and 200 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata slid 0.36 percent, while CIMB Group fell 0.41 percent, Dialog Group added 0.50 percent, Digi.com was down 0.31 percent, Genting sank 0.88 percent, Genting Malaysia shed 0.71 percent, IHH Healthcare advanced 0.80 percent, INARI skidded 1.14 percent, IOI Corporation stumbled 1.24 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong dropped 1.03 percent, Maybank plunged 2.59 percent, Maxis retreated 1.55 percent, MISC plummeted 2.84 percent, MRDIY jumped 1.73 percent, Petronas Chemicals lost 0.42 percent, PPB Group perked 0.26 percent, Press Metal tumbled 2.34 percent, Public Bank slumped 1.34 percent, RHB Capital tanked 2.55 percent, Sime Darby climbed 1.41 percent, Sime Darby Plantations eased 0.22 percent, Telekom Malaysia and Petronas Dagangan both gained 0.40 percent, Tenaga Nasional declined 2.05 percent, Top Glove surrendered 2.48 percent and Hartalega Holdings was unchanged.

Wall Street and many of the commodity markets were off on Monday for the Juneteenth holiday, but the European markets finished with solid gains.

Germany's DAX jumped 139.34 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 13,265..60, London's FTSE spiked 105.56 points or 1.50 percent to close at 7,121.81 and the CAC 40 in France gained 37.44 points or 0.64 percent to end at 5,920.09.

Bargain hunting was a big part of that following the weakness from last week that were fueled by worries about a recession and bets of bigger interest-rate hikes from major central banks.

The rally was also fueled by European Central bank President Christine Lagarde, who reaffirmed on Monday that the ECB will hike interest rates by 25 basis points twice this summer to fight inflation. Investors had worried that sharper rate hikes might be on the docket, sparking recession concerns.

Investors also await a congressional appearance by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell this week that could highlight the U.S. central bank's resolve to guide inflation back to the Fed's 2 percent target.