Malaysia Stock Market May Take Further Damage On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, dipping almost 5 points or 0.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,455-point plateau and it may see continued consolidation again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation following uninspired data from the United States. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Friday as losses from the plantations and telecoms were mitigated by support from the financial shares.

For the day, the index eased 1.77 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 1,457.16 after trading between 1,449.67 and 1,458.97.

Among the actives, Axiata dropped 0.74 percent, while Celcomdigi declined 1.14 percent, CIMB Group retreated 0.88 percent, Dialog Group advanced 0.88 percent, Genting jumped 1.85 percent, Genting Malaysia improved 0.77 percent, IHH Healthcare fell 0.33 percent, IOI Corporation dipped 0.24 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 0.35 percent, Maxis skidded 0.76 percent, Maybank added 0.22 percent, MRDIY sank 0.65 percent, Petronas Chemicals was down 0.15 percent, PPB Group tumbled 1.43 percent, Press Metal shed 0.60 percent, Public Bank collected 0.24 percent, Sime Darby climbed 0.93 percent, Sime Darby Plantations slid 0.22 percent, Telekom Malaysia eased 0.20 percent, Tenaga Nasional gained 0.72 percent, Westports Holdings slumped 0.87 percent and MISC and RHB Capital were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up mixed as the major averages opened lower on Friday and wound up on opposite sides of the unchanged line after a day of volatility.

The Dow gained 105.30 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 35,281.40, while the NASDAQ slumped 93.15 points or 0.68 percent to close at 13,644.85 and the S&P 500 fell 4.78 points or 0.11 percent to end at 4,464.05. For the week, the Dow added 0.6 percent, the NASDAQ tumbled 1.9 percent and the S&P eased 0.3 percent.

The mixed performance on Wall Street came following the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices climbed slightly more than expected in July.

While the larger than increase by the headline index led to renewed interest rate concerns among some investors, analysts noted the more important index excluding food, energy, and trade services rose in line with estimates.

A separate report released by the University of Michigan showed a slight pullback in consumer sentiment in August.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Friday after a report from the International Energy Agency forecast strong demand for oil and tightening supplies in the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $0.37 at $83.19 a barrel.