Continued Consolidation Anticipated For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Monday halted the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 10 points or 0.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,420-point plateau and it may take further damage on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, thanks to the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. debt ceiling situation. The European and U.S. bourses were mostly lower and little changed and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead. The KLCI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the telecoms, support from the plantations and mixed performances from the financials and industrials. For the day, the index sank 9.54 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 1,419.00 after trading between 1,416.20 and 1,425.66.

Among the actives, Axiata shed 0.33 percent, while CIMB Group gained 0.60 percent, Dialog Group plunged 2.30 percent, Celcomdigi lost 0.23 percent, Genting surrendered 1.78 percent, Genting Malaysia skidded 0.74 percent, IHH Healthcare was up 0.17 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 0.62 percent, Maxis plummeted 3.91 percent, Maybank tanked 2.28 percent, MISC rose 0.27 percent, MRDIY dropped 0.62 percent, Petronas Chemicals jumped 1.46 percent, PPB Group declined 1.71 percent, Public Bank retreated 0.75 percent, Sime Darby advanced 0.94 percent, Sime Darby Plantations improved 0.44 percent, Telekom Malaysia sank 0.40 percent, Tenaga Nasional tumbled 2.24 percent and RHB Capital, INARI, IOI Corporation, Press Metal, Nestle Malaysia and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened slightly higher but quickly headed south. They staged a modest recovery as the day progressed, although the Dow never managed to escape from negative territory.

The Dow dropped 140.05 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 33,286.58, while the NASDAQ climbed 62.88 points or 0.50 percent to close at 12,720.78 and the S&P 500 rose 0.65 points or 002 percent to end at 4,192.63.

The weakness on Wall Street came as investors largely refrained from making significant moves as they awaited updates on debt ceiling negotiations between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., which so far have not found a resolution.

Treasury Secretary Yellen said on Sunday that the likelihood of the Treasury paying all U.S. bills by June 15 is getting smaller each day.

Concerns over the outlook for interest rates also weighed as Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said that he backed two more increases.

Crude oil prices pared early losses and settled higher on Monday, amid hopes the U.S. lawmakers will reach a debt ceiling deal soon and help the nation avoid a default. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for June settled at $71.99 a barrel, up $0.44 or 0.6 percent on the expiration day.