Rally May Stall For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in consecutive trading days, advancing more than 20 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,690-point plateau although it's likely to run out of steam on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative with heavy pressure likely among technology companies. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Friday as gains from the financials and telecoms were capped by profit taking among the plantation stocks.

For the day, the index added 10.17 points or 0.60 percent to finish at 1,693.43 after trading between 1,684.36 and 1,698.53. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail gained 0.30 percent, while Axiata vaulted 1.03 percent, Celcomdigi increased 0.36 percent, CIMB Group improved 0.54 percent, Gamuda tumbled 1.82 percent, IHH Healthcare climbed 0.68 percent, IOI Corporation and YTL Power both lost 0.24 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 0.20 percent, Maxis cratered 2.65 percent, Maybank soared 1.89 percent, MRDIY spiked 1.87 percent, Nestle Malaysia sank 0.88 percent, Petronas Chemicals shed 0.37 percent, Petronas Dagangan surged 2.45 percent, Petronas Gas rallied 1.63 percent, PPB Group added 0.31 percent, Press Metal strengthened 1.11 percent, Public Bank collected 1.88 percent, RHB Bank dipped 0.12 percent, Sime Darby jumped 1.48 percent, SD Guthrie plunged 2.15 percent, Sunway Healthcare advanced 0.58 percent, Telekom Malaysia expanded 0.81 percent, Tenaga Nasional rose 0.28 percent and AMMB Holdings, YTL Corporation, Sunway and MISC were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened lower on Friday and accelerated deeper into the red throughout the day, ending at session lows.

The Dow plunged 695.15 points or 1.35 percent to finish at 50,866.78, while the NASDAQ cratered 1,121.53 points or 4.18 percent to close at 25,709.43 and the S&P 500 tumbled 200.57 points or 2.64 percent to end at 7,383.74.

For the week, the NASDAQ plummeted 4.7 percent, the S&P 500 dove 2.9 percent and the Dow dipped 0.3 percent.

The sell-off on Wall Street came as technology stocks remained under pressure amid concerns about valuations.

Profit taking also contributed to the substantial weakness following recent strength in the markets, which lifted them to record closing highs.

A sharp increase by treasury yields also weighed on Wall Street, with yields surging following the release of stronger than expected U.S. jobs data.

Crude oil prices slumped on Friday on optimism that the Strait of Hormuz may re-open in the coming days. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $2.97 or 2.97 percent at $90.07 per barrel.