Malaysia Bourse Tipped To Open To The Upside

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, sinking more than 15 points or 0.9 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,625-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with technology stocks expected to lead the markets higher. The European and U.S. markets were mostly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The KLCI finished modestly lower again on Monday as the financials, industrials, telecoms and plantations ended mostly under water.

For the day, the index dipped 3.99 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 1,625.47 after trading between 1,623.64 and 1,631.71.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail added 0.41 percent, while Celcomdigi retreated 1.35 percent, CIMB Group shed 0.37 percent, Gamuda surged 3.40 percent, IHH Healthcare and Tenaga Nasional both fell 0.14 percent, IOI Corporation gathered 0.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong skidded 0.46 percent, Maxis rose 0.27 percent, Maybank sank 0.39 percent, MISC dipped 0.13 percent, MRDIY plunged 2.65 percent, Nestle Malaysia surrendered 1.77 percent, Petronas Chemicals tanked 2.00 percent, Petronas Dagangan plummeted 3.13 percent, Petronas Gas advanced 0.57 percent, PPB Group gained 0.32 percent, Public Bank collected 0.22 percent, QL Resources declined 1.05 percent, RHB Bank lost 0.16 percent, SD Guthrie weakened 1.01 percent, Telekom Malaysia tumbled 1.49 percent, YTL Corporation slumped 0.73 percent, YTL Power dropped 0.45 percent and Axiata, Sime Darby, Sunway and Press Metal were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Monday and largely remained that way, although the Dow dipped into the red by the day's end.

The Dow shed 25.57 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 42,706.56, while the NASDAQ rallied 243.30 points or 1.24 percent to close at 19,864.98 and the S&P 500 added 32.91 points or 0.55 percent to end at 5,975.38.

The early rally on Wall Street reflected continued strength among tech stocks after contract electronics giant Foxconn reported record fourth quarter revenue amid strong AI server demand.

Early buying interest was also generated in reaction to reports suggesting President-elect Donald Trump may scale back his tariff plans.

Crude oil prices were unable to hold early gains on Monday, snapping a five-day winning streak - although the downside was capped after top oil exporter Saudi Arabia raised prices for Asian buyers for the first time in three months. West Texas Intermediate Crude for February delivery fell $0.46 or 0.5 percent to $73.50 a barrel.