Rally May Stall For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, collecting more than a dozen points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,545-point plateau although it's due for consolidation on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower ahead of inflation data that may affect the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The KLCI finished slightly higher again on Monday following gains from the financials and telecoms, while the plantations were mixed.

For the day, the index rose 4.85 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 1,544.71 after trading between 1,540.77 and 1,547.48.

Among the actives, AMMB Holdings plummeted 3.63 percent, while Axiata advanced 0.73 percent, Celcomdigi soared 1.90 percent, CIMB Group rose 0.30 percent, Genting surged 3.03 percent, Genting Malaysia added 0.69 percent, IHH Healthcare climbed0.83 percent, IOI Corporation sank 0.50 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gathered 0.27 percent, Maxis jumped 1.43 percent, Maybank improved 0.72 percent, Petronas Chemicals rallied 1.32 percent, PPB Group tumbled 1.17 percent, Press Metal spiked 1.76 percent, Public Bank collected 0.22 percent, QL Resources gained 0.67 percent, RHB Capital perked 0.18 percent, Sime Darby Plantations shed 0.46 percent, Telekom Malaysia was up 0.17 percent, Tenaga Nasional lost 0.35 percent, YTL Corporation increased 0.40 percent and YTL Power, MISC, MRDIY and Sime Darby were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened lower on Monday and largely stayed that way, although the Dow snuck barely above the line late in the day to finish slightly higher.

The Dow added 46.97 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 38,769.66, while the NASDAQ slumped 65.84 points or 0.41 percent to close at 16,019.27 and the S&P 500 dipped 5.75 points or 0.11 percent to end at 5,117.94.

The weakness on Wall Street came amid uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the release of key inflation data later today, when the Labor Department is scheduled to release its closely watched report on consumer price inflation for February.

The inflation data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates, with Federal Reserve officials saying they need "greater confidence" that inflation is slowing before they consider cutting rates.

While the Fed is widely expected to leave rates unchanged at its monetary policy meeting next week, the data could impact expectations regarding when the central bank will eventually lower rates.

Oil futures settled lower on Monday amid concerns about the outlook for demand from China and on caution ahead key U.S. consumer price inflation data. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $0.08 or 0.1 percent at $77.93 a barrel, settling lower for the third consecutive session.

Closer to home, Malaysia will see January data for industrial production later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 2.0 percent on year following the 0.1 percent drop in December.