Rally May Stall For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, collecting more than 30 points of 2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,640-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to lower, with weakness from the technology and oil sectors limiting the upside. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and mixed performances from the plantations, telecoms and industrials.

For the day, the index rose 5.91 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 1,643.72 after trading between 1,632.54 and 1,644.05. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail gained 0.57 percent, while AMMB Holdings fell 0.48 percent, Axiata shed 0.76 percent, Celcomdigi expanded 0.91 percent, CIMB Group gathered 0.38 percent, Gamuda sank 0.82 percent, IHH Healthcare rallied 1.05 percent, IOI Corporation stumbled 1.69 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong soared 1.54 percent, Maxis strengthened 1.03 percent, Maybank added 0.58 percent, MISC advanced 0.93 percent, MRDIY improved 0.67 percent, Nestle Malaysia dropped 0.88 percent, Petronas Chemicals surged 2.31 percent, Petronas Dagangan eased 0.10 percent, Petronas Gas slipped 0.23 percent, PPB Group perked 0.10 percent, Press Metal climbed 1.02 percent, Public Bank collected 0.45 percent, QL Resources rose 0.25 percent, RHB Bank picked up 0.40 percent, Sime Darby lost 0.51 percent, SD Guthrie declined 0.74 percent, Sunway slumped 1.42 percent, Telekom Malaysia jumped 1.41 percent, Tenaga Nasional increased 0.61 percent, YTL Corporation was up 0.47 percent and YTL Power spiked 1.52 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened slightly higher on Monday but quickly slipped under water and spent the balance of the day hugging the line from below.

The Dow slumped 41.49 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 48,416.56, while the NASDAQ dropped 137.76 points or 0.59 percent to end at 23,057.41 and the S&P 500 sank 10.90 points or 0.16 percent to close at 6,816.51.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came on continued uncertainty about AI spending and the possibility of a tech bubble.

Traders were also reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of some key U.S. economic data in the coming days, including retail sales and inflation.

The data could impact the outlook for interest rates following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement last Wednesday. While the Fed cut rates by another quarter point, as widely expected, officials' projections showed significant differences of opinion about further rate cuts.

The price of crude oil retreated on Monday as lingering oversupply concerns offset worries about potential supply disruptions. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was down $0.62 or 1.1 percent to $56.82 per barrel.