Malaysia Bourse Expected To Halt Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Monday's holiday for Agong's birthday, the Malaysia stock market had moved lower in five straight sessions, slipping more than 25 points or 1.8 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,510-point plateau and it's overdue for support on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the telecoms and plantations, while the financial sector came in mixed.

For the day, the index sank 10.63 points or 0.70 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,508.35 after peaking at 1,522.06.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail cratered 2.82 percent, while Axiata shed 0.49 percent, Celcomdigi crashed 3.63 percent, CIMB Group collected 0.73 percent, Gamuda tumbled 1.72 percent, Hong Leong Financial rallied 1.97 percent, IHH Healthcare eased 0.14 percent, IOI Corporation slumped 1.10 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong declined 1.32 percent, Maxis surrendered 2.75 percent, Maybank and Telekom Malaysia both skidded 0.91 percent, MRDIY contracted 1.25 percent, Nestle Malaysia tanked 2.79 percent Petronas Chemicals lost 0.29 percent, Petronas Dagangan plunged 3.90 percent, Petronas Gas was up 0.11 percent, PPB Group weakened 1.23 percent, Press Metal perked 0.20 percent, QL Resources dropped 0.88 percent, RHB Bank retreated 1.38 percent, Sime Darby plummeted 3.95 percent, SD Guthrie stumbled 2.61 percent, Sunway rose 0.21 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.57 percent, YTL Power added 0.63 percent and MISC, Public Bank and YTL Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mildly positive as the major averages spent most of Monday in the red before a late rally nudged them over the unchanged line.

The Dow added 35.41 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 42,305.48, while the NASDAQ gained 128.85 points or 0.67 percent to close at 19,242.61 and the S&P 500 rose 24.25 points or 0.41 percent to end at 5,935.94.

The early weakness on Wall Street reflected renewed trade concerns amid further signs of rising tensions between the U.S. and China.

China on Monday pushed back against President Donald Trump's claims that it had broken the Geneva trade agreement, accusing the U.S. of violating the deal with increased tech export restrictions and the revocation of Chinese student visas.

However, selling pressure waned following the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly weakened in May. The report generated some optimism about the outlook for interest rates amid signs of U.S. economic weakness due to Trump's trade war.

Crude oil futures moved sharply higher on Monday, amid escalating geopolitical tensions and reports of more U.S. sanctions on Moscow. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery shot up $1.73 or 2.9 percent to $62.52 a barrel.