Win Streak May End For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Monday's holiday for Thaipusam, the Malaysia stock market had moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 5 points or 0.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,490-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished barely higher on Friday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantations and telecoms.

For the day, the index picked up 0.67 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 1,490.47 after trading between 1,485.25 and 1,493.34.

Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 1.95 percent, while CIMB Group and Petronas Gas both slumped 0.70 percent, Dialog Group jumped 1.17 percent, Digi.com plummeted 2.79 percent, Genting sank 0.59 percent, Genting Malaysia added 0.70 percent, IHH Healthcare and QL Resources both spiked 1.34 percent, INARI and Press Metal both climbed 1.13 percent, IOI Corporation improved 1.05 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rallied 1.19 percent, Maybank eased 0.11 percent, Maxis dropped 0.50 percent, MISC fell 0.41 percent, MRDIY surged 2.70 percent, Petronas Chemicals advanced 1.09 percent, PPB Group and Sime Darby Plantations both lost 0.45 percent, RHB Capital dipped 0.18 percent, Sime Darby gained 0.43 percent, Telekom Malaysia was up 0.39 percent, Tenaga Nasional rose 0.42 percent and Public Bank and AMMB Holdings were unchanged.

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

The Dow shed 34.99 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 33,891.02, while the NASDAQ tumbled 119.50 points or 1.00 percent to end at 11,887.45 and the S&P 500 sank 25.40 points or 0.61 percent to close at 4,111.08.

Concerns about the outlook for interest rates continued to weigh on Wall Street following last week's stronger than expected jobs data, which could prompt the Federal Reserve to speed up its pace for interest rate hikes.

Computer hardware stocks were under pressure, as were steel, housing, semiconductor and gold shares.

Oil prices climbed higher Monday on optimism energy demand from China will see a big jump after Saudi Arabia unexpectedly increased the prices of oil to be shipped to Asia. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $0.72 or 1 percent at $74.11 a barrel.