Malaysia Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, gathering more than 35 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,590-point plateau although the rally may stall on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on inflation and tariff concerns. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

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

For the day, the index rose 5.74 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 1,590.91 after trading between 1,582.92 and 1,591.49.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail gained 0.43 percent, while Celcomdigi retreated 1.05 percent, CIMB Group soared 2.07 percent, Gamuda spiked 2.01 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Press Metal both rose 0.20 percent, Maxis shed 0.56 percent, MISC stumbled 2.12 percent, MRDIY climbed 1.20 percent, Nestle Malaysia fell 0.22 percent, Petronas Chemicals and Petronas Dagangan both slumped 0.91 percent, Petronas Gas tumbled 1.80 percent, PPB Group sank 0.67 percent, QL Resources rallied 1.31 percent, RHB Bank and Tenaga Nasional both collected 0.15 percent, SD Guthrie skidded 1.01 percent, Sunway added 0.45 percent, Telekom Malaysia jumped 1.66 percent, YTL Corporation surged 2.54 percent, YTL Power skyrocketed 6.50 percent and IHH Healthcare, IOI Corporation, Axiata, Sime Darby, Public Bank and Maybank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Friday but quickly slipped under water and finished the session with sizeable losses.

The Dow stumbled 444.20 points or 0.99 percent to finish at 44,303.40, while the NASDAQ slumped 268.60 points or 1.36 percent to close at 19,523.40 and the S&P 500 sank 57.58 points or 0.95 percent to end at 6,025.99. For the week, the S&P 500 dipped 0.2 percent, while the Dow and the NASDAQ both fell 0.5 percent.

The weakness that emerged early in the session came after the University of Michigan released a report showing consumer sentiment unexpectedly deteriorated in February amid a surge by year-ahead inflation expectations.

Stocks saw further downside after President Donald Trump said he will announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries this week, with the U.S. imposing tariffs on imports equal to the rates imposed on American exports.

Traders were also reacting to mixed U.S. jobs data, with a closely watched Labor Department report showing weaker than expected job growth in January but an unexpected decrease in the unemployment rate.

Oil prices climbed higher on Friday after the U.S. imposed new sanctions on Iran's crude exports, although a stronger dollar limited oil's gains. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March rose $0.39 or 0.5 percent at $71.00 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed 2 percent in the week.

Closer to home, Malaysia will release December numbers for unemployment later today; the jobless rate was 3.2 percent in November.