Renewed Support Anticipated For Malaysia Shares

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the four-day losing streak in which it had fallen more than a dozen points or 0.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,440-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing treasuries and ahead of key data later this week. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index dipped 2.70 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 1,439.20 after trading between 1,436.98 and 1,441.80.

Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 2.16 percent, while CIMB Group added 0.35 percent, Genting slumped 0.50 percent, Genting Malaysia and Petronas Gas both declined 0.82 percent, IHH Healthcare slipped 0.17 percent, IOI Corporation retreated 0.51 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Petronas Chemicals both fell 0.27 percent, Maxis slid 0.25 percent, Maybank sank 0.11 percent, MISC lost 0.28 percent, MRDIY rallied 1.34 percent, PPB Group stumbled 2.07 percent, Public Bank shed 0.48 percent, RHB Capital was down 0.18 percent, Sime Darby advanced 0.44 percent, Sime Darby Plantations jumped 1.41 percent, Telekom Malaysia dipped 0.20 percent, Tenaga Nasional eased 0.10 percent, Westports Holdings climbed 1.19 percent and Celcomdigi, Dialog Group and Press Metal were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is strong as the major averages opened higher on Monday and mostly improved as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 511.37 points or 1.58 percent to finish at 32,928.96, while the NASDAQ rallied 146.47 points or 1.16 percent to end at 12,789.48 and the S&P 500 gained 49.45 points or 1.20 percent to close at 4,166.82.

The rebound on Wall Street reflected bargain hunting, with traders picking up stocks at reduced levels following last week's sell-off - which reflected ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates and concerns in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, traders continued to look ahead to the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

With the Fed widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the potential for further rate hikes.

Oil prices declined sharply Monday amid easing concerns about supply disruptions from the Middle East region. Investors are also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement and the non-farm payroll data for October on Friday. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December slumped $3.23 or 3.8 percent at $82.31 a barrel.