Malaysia Shares Expected To Be Rangebound Again On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day losing streak in which it had given up less than a single point. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,456-point plateau and it's expected to see little movement again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares and the telecoms, while the plantations were mixed.

For the day, the index advanced 11.49 points or 0.79 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,463.43 after trading between 1,454.67.

Among the actives, Axiata skyrocketed 5.08 percent, while Celcomdigi surged 2.28 percent, CIMB Group and Dialog Group both spiked 1.95 percent, Genting and Sime Darby Plantations both improved 0.23 percent, Genting Malaysia gained 0.39 percent, IHH Healthcare slumped 1.18 percent, IOI Corporation added 0.50 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong shed 0.46 percent, Maxis climbed 1.00 percent, Maybank collected 0.44 percent, MISC strengthened 1.25 percent, PPB Group rose 0.25 percent, Press Metal jumped 1.44 percent, Public Bank perked 0.24 percent, RHB Capital rallied 0.71 percent, Telekom Malaysia soared 1.96 percent, Tenaga Nasional advanced 0.81 percent, Westports Holdings tumbled 1.71 percent and MRDIY, Petronas Chemicals, Sime Darby and AMMB Holdings were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is slightly higher as the major averages opened higher but quickly faded and hugged the unchanged line, finally ending mixed.

The Dow climbed 115.81 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 34,837.71, while the NASDAQ eased 3.19 points or 0.02 percent to close at 14,031.81 and the S&P 500 rose 8.11 points or 0.18 percent to end at 4,515.77. For the week, the NASDAQ spiked 3.3 percent, the S&P 500 surged 2.5 percent and the Dow jumped 1.4 percent.

The lackluster performance on Wall Street followed the release of a mixed employment from the Labor Department. While the closely watched report showed modestly stronger than expected job growth in August, the report also showed an unexpected increase in the unemployment rate.

The increase in the unemployment rate added to optimism about the Federal Reserve leaving interest rates unchanged later this month, but traders continued to express some uncertainty about future meetings.

In other economic news, the Institute for Supply Management reported a slowdown in the pace of contraction in U.S. manufacturing activity last month.

Crude oil showed another significant move to the upside during trading on Friday, extending recent gains over supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery surged $1.92 or 2.3 percent to $85.55 a barrel, closing higher for the seventh straight session. The price of crude oil soared 7.2 percent for the week.