Malaysia Bourse Due For Profit Taking

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, gathering more than 35 points or 2.2 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,520-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed with a touch of upside amidst a lack of catalysts. The European markets were up slightly and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The KLCI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the financial shares and telecoms were capped by weakness from the plantations. For the day, the index climbed 12.39 points or 0.82 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,521.59 after trading as low as 1,511.48. Among the actives, Axiata increased 0.99 percent, while Celcomdigi was up 0.27 percent, Gamuda accelerated 1.75 percent, IHH Healthcare and Tenaga Nasional both perked 0.29 percent, IOI Corporation sank 0.82 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 0.71 percent, Maxis improved 1.10 percent, Maybank collected 1.22 percent, MISC jumped 1.66 percent, MRDIY lost 0.61 percent, Nestle Malaysia gathered 0.47 percent, Petronas Chemicals rallied 1.45 percent, Petronas Dagangan eased 0.11 percent, PPB Group slid 0.33 percent, Press Metal climbed 1.24 percent, Public Bank soared 2.06 percent, QL Resources surged 2.11 percent, RHB Bank spiked 1.84 percent, Sime Darby fell 0.48 percent, SD Guthrie shed 0.64 percent, Sunway picked up 0.22 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 0.88 percent, YTL Corporation rose 0.53 percent, YTL Power advanced 1.20 percent and 99 Speed Mart Retail, CIMB Group and Hong Leong Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests little movement as the major averages opened higher on Monday, slumped mid-session but rallied to finish mixed and little changed.

The Dow advanced 114.09 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 40,227.59, while the NASDAQ eased 16.81 points or 0.10 percent to close at 17,366.13 and the S&P 500 perked 3.54 points or 0.06 percent to end at 5,528.75.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves as they look ahead to the release of key earnings and economic news in the coming days.

Quarterly results are due from the likes of Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT), Coca-Cola (KO), Visa (V), Eli Lilly (LLY), Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM).

The Labor Department's monthly jobs report is also likely to be in focus later this week along with the Federal Reserve's preferred readings on consumer price inflation.

Crude oil prices continued to slump on concerns over tariff threats and their likely impact on the global economy. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was down $115 or 1.82 percent to $61.87 per barrel.