Malaysia Shares Likely Rangebound On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Friday wrote a finish to the four-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 20 points or 1.2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,615-point plateau and it's likely to see little movement on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and fairly flat on Friday and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Friday following mixed performances from the financial shares, telecoms, plantations and industrials.

For the day, the index slipped 2.39 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 1,613.25 after trading between 1,611.25 and 1,617.57.

Among the actives, Axiata retreated 1.67 percent, while Celcomdigi shed 0.54 percent, CIMB Group lost 0.24 percent, Genting jumped 1.68 percent, IHH Healthcare eased 0.14 percent, IOI Corporation tumbled 1.77 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 0.55 percent, Maxis declined 0.86 percent, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional both sank 0.59 percent, MISC rose 0.40 percent, MRDIY surged 2.72 percent, Nestle Malaysia stumbled 1.86 percent, Petronas Chemicals rallied 1.04 percent, PPB Group declined 1.38 percent, Press Metal dropped 0.80 percent, Public Bank collected 0.22 percent, QL Resources perked 0.21 percent, RHB Bank and YTL Power both clumped 1.06 percent, Sime Darby soared 2.56 percent, SD Guthrie fell 0.20 percent, Sunway gained 0.41 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 0.46 percent, YTL Corporation spiked 2.27 percent and Genting Malaysia and Petronas Gas were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the major averages opened higher on Friday, although the Dow was unable to hold its gains and the markets ended mixed.

The Dow slumped 123.18 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 44,642.52, while the NASDAQ rallied 159.07 points or 0.81 percent to close at 19,859.77 and the S&P 500 slipped 15.16 points or 0.25 percent to end at 6,090.27.

The Dow continued to clump amid a continued decline by shares of UnitedHealth (UNH) after that company's CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down last week.

But the NASDAQ and the S&P continued to benefit from a positive reaction to Friday's closely watched Labor Department report showing employment in the U.S. surged more than expected in November.

However, the report said the unemployment rate crept up to 4.2 percent in November from 4.1 percent in October, increasing confidence the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by another 25 basis points later this month.

Oil prices fell on Friday, weighed down by prospects of excess supply in the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January shed $1.10 or 1.61 percent at $67.20 a barrel. WTI crude futures fell nearly 1 percent in the week.