Malaysia Stock Market Due For Positive Bounce

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, sliding almost 6 points or 0.4 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,455-point plateau although it may find support on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with bargain hunting expected to support the more oversold bourses. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index dipped 5.12 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 1,454.95 after trading between 1,454.70 and 1,460.23.

Among the actives, Axiata stumbled 0.81 percent, while Celcomdigi slumped 0.68 percent, CIMB Group declined 0.87 percent, Dialog Group plummeted 3.67 percent, Genting and Petronas Gas both slid 0.23 percent, IHH Healthcare dipped 0.17 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong skidded 0.66 percent, Maxis jumped 1.70 percent, Maybank lost 0.33 percent, MISC fell 0.28 percent, MRDIY rallied 1.33 percent, PPB Group retreated 0.88 percent, Press Metal dropped 0.61 percent, RHB Capital sank 0.35 percent, Sime Darby added 0.46 percent, Sime Darby Plantations tumbled 1.38 percent, Telekom Malaysia advanced 0.78 percent, Tenaga Nasional eased 0.10 percent, Westports Holdings plunged 2.04 percent and Petronas Chemicals, Public Bank, AMMB Holdings, IOI Corporation, Genting Malaysia, Nestle Malaysia and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened in the green on Friday and spent all of the day in positive territory, although they ended well off session highs.

The Dow gained 75.89 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 34,576.59, while the NASDAQ rose 12.73 points or 0.09 percent to close at 13,761.53 and the S&P 500 gained 6.35 points or 0.14 percent to end at 4,457.49. For the week, the NASDAQ tumbled 1.9 percent, the S&P 500 slumped 1.3 percent and the Dow slid 0.8 percent.

The modest strength on Wall Street partly reflected bargain hunting, as some traders pick up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness. The uptick by the NASDAQ snapped a four-day losing streak.

Some traders may also have felt concerns about the outlook for interest rates, which contributed to the recent weakness, have been overdone.

While recent economic data has led to worries the Federal Reserve may leave rates higher for longer than previously anticipated, the central bank is still widely expected to keep rates unchanged later this month.

Crude oil prices climbed on Friday amid concerns about tightening oil supplies following Russia and Saudi Arabia's decision last week to extend their supply cut to the end of the year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October rose $0.64 or 0.7 percent at $87.51 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will provide July data for industrial production later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.3 percent on year following the 2.2 percent decline in June.