Renewed Consolidation Anticipated For Malaysia Shares

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Monday wrote a finish to the two-day slide in which it had dipped almost 8 points or 0.6 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,460-point plateau although it's likely to head south again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets mixed to lower amid soft earnings news and ahead of the FOMC's policy announcement later this week. 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 higher on Monday following gains from the telecoms and glove makers, while the financials and plantations were mixed.

For the day, the index advanced 13.07 points or 0.90 percent to finish at 1,460.38 after trading between 1,450.94 and 1,468.41. Volume was 2.888 billion shares worth 1.940 billion ringgit. There were 450 gainers and 365 decliners.

Among the actives, Axiata surged 4.78 percent, while CIMB Group sank 0.72 percent, Dialog Group skyrocketed 7.85 percent, Digi.com advanced 1.07 percent, Genting strengthened 1.37 percent, Genting Malaysia gathered 0.74 percent, Hartalega Holdings rallied 1.41 percent, INARI soared 3.75 percent, IOI Corporation increased 0.99 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 0.64 percent, Maybank and Petronas Gas both were up 0.12 percent, Maxis improved 1.32 percent, MISC dipped 0.28 percent, MRDIY spiked 3.59 percent, Petronas Chemicals shed 0.68 percent, PPB Group added 0.85 percent, Public Bank accelerated 2.05 percent, RHB Capital collected 0.53 percent, Sime Darby jumped 1.81 percent, Sime Darby Plantations climbed 1.15 percent, Telekom Malaysia perked 0.36 percent, Tenaga Nasional gained 0.84 percent, Top Glove rose 0.63 percent and IHH Healthcare, Press Metal and Nestle were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened in the red on Monday and remained that way throughout the session.

The Dow slumped 128.85 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 32,732.95, while the NASDAQ sank 114.31 points or 1.03 percent to end at 10,988.15 and the S&P 500 dropped 29.08 points or 0.75 percent to close at 3,871.98.

The Dow posted a gain of almost 14 percent in October, the biggest monthly return since January 1976. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ added 0.8 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, last month.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's policy announcement on Wednesday. The Fed is widely expected to raise its benchmark interest rate by another 75 basis points - its fourth straight rate hike - to fight soaring inflation.

Also weighing were disappointing earnings results from the likes of Apple Inc. (AAPL), Amazon Inc (AMZN), Microsoft Corp (MSFT), Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL.TO), Meta Platforms Inc (META) and Intel (INTC).

Crude oil prices fell Monday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand from China following a fresh surge in COVID-19 cases. A rise in oil output in the U.S., and a firm dollar also weighed on prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended down $1.37 or 1.6 percent at $86.53 a barrel.