Malaysia Shares Poised To Halt Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, although it had given up less than a single point in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just shy of the 1,445-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for the economy and the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished barely lower on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index eased 0.35 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 1,444.06 after trading between 1,441.78 and 1,445.31.

Among the actives, Maxis spiked 1.48 percent, while Petronas Chemicals rallied 1.45 percent, Genting Malaysia tumbled 1.15 percent, Genting retreated 0.91 percent, Sime Darby climbed 0.91 percent, Axiata declined 0.78 percent, Tenaga Nasional slumped 0.70 percent, Celcomdigi advanced 0.68 percent, Mr. DIY added 0.66 percent, AMMB Holdings gained 0.54 percent, PPB Group dropped 0.52 percent, Dialog Group gathered 0.48 percent, MISC rose 0.42 percent, Westports Holdings sank 0.29 percent, Sime Darby Plantations perked 0.23 percent, Maybank lost 0.22 percent, Press Metal and Hong Leong Bank both were up 0.20 percent, Telekom Malaysia dipped 0.20 percent, CIMB Group eased 0.28 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.18 percent and Public Bank, IHH Healthcare and IOI Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday, ebbed and flowed throughout the session but still ended solidly in positive territory.

The Dow jumped 213.08 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 34,559.98, while the NASDAQ spiked 114.48 points or 0.84 percent to close at 13,705.13 and the S&P 500 rallied 27.60 points or 0.63 percent to end at 4,433.31.

The higher open came after China put forth stimulus to ease market unrest and drive economic growth. Chinese authorities announced a slew of measures over the weekend to bolster the country's equity markets and fuel an increase in spending. The measures included a 50 percent reduction in stamp duty on stock trades and a slower pace of initial public offerings.

The markets also saw continued momentum after Fed Chair Jerome Powell expressed confidence in continued economic growth last week at Jackson Hole and reiterated the central bank's commitment to pull inflation back to the 2 percent target.

Crude oil prices edged higher on Monday on optimism that energy operations in the Gulf Coast of Florida may be affected by severe weather conditions this week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended higher by $0.27 or 0.3 percent at $80.10 a barrel.