Malaysia Stock Market May See Renewed Consolidation

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Friday ended the six-day losing streak in which it had tumbled more than 55 points or 3.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,535-point plateau although it's expected to open under pressure again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on renewed trade and tariff concerns. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index added 8.36 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 1,535.38 after trading between 1,531.76 and 1,536.75.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail slumped 1.38 percent, while CIMB Group jumped 1.31 percent, Gamuda improved 1.10 percent, IHH Healthcare rose 0.29 percent, IOI Corporation fell 0.27 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 1.12 percent, Maxis gained 0.82 percent, Maybank collected 0.61 percent, MRDIY surged 3.18 percent, Nestle Malaysia perked 0.12 percent, Petronas Chemicals strengthened 1.20 percent, PPB Group rallied 1.21 percent, Press Metal accelerated 1.79 percent, Public Bank spiked 2.33 percent, QL Resources increased 0.88 percent, RHB Bank climbed 1.19 percent, Sime Darby soared 2.39 percent, SD Guthrie added 0.86 percent, Sunway stumbled 2.69 percent, Telekom Malaysia tanked 1.44 percent, YTL Corporation plunged 5.53 percent, YTL Power plummeted 5.83 percent and Axiata, Celcomdigi, Petronas Dagangan, Hong Leong Bank, MISC and Tenaga Nasional were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Friday and remained in the red throughout the trading day.

The Dow dropped 256.02 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 41,603.07, while the NASDAQ tumbled 188.53 points or 1.00 percent to close at 18,737.21 and the S&P 500 sank 39.19 points or 0.67 percent to end at 5,802.82.

For the week, the S&P 500 gave up 2.6 percent, while the NASDAQ and the Dow both plunged 2.5 percent.

The initial slump on Wall Street came after President Donald Trump threatened to impose 50 percent tariffs on imports from the European Union beginning June 1, sparking renewed trade concerns.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department said new home sales in the U.S. spiked in April compared to a significantly downwardly revised level in March.

Crude oil prices ticked higher on Friday but still fell for the week amid reports of another production increase by OPEC for July. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery climbed $0.34 or 0.6 percent to $61.54 a barrel. For the week, crude fell 1.5 percent.