Malaysia Shares Likely To Remain Rangebound

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market ticked higher again on Monday, one session after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had gained almost 15 points or 1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,520-point plateau and it's expected to remain in that neighborhood again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky ahead of key upcoming talks between the United States and China. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The KLCI finished slightly higher on Monday following gains from the plantation stocks and mixed performances from the financials and telecoms. For the day, the index perked 2.62 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 1,519.41 after trading between 1,518.03 and 1,521.64. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail rose 0.48 percent, while Axiata increased 0.50 percent, Celcomdigi shed 0.52 percent, CIMB Group advanced 0.73 percent, Gamuda stumbled 1.47 percent, Hong Leong Financial eased 0.12 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.58 percent, IOI Corporation perked 0.27 percent, Maxis slumped 0.83 percent, Maybank dipped 0.21 percent, MISC spiked 1.32 percent, Nestle Malaysia tumbled 1.79 percent, Petronas Chemicals soared 3.08 percent, Petronas Dagangan retreated 1.71 percent, Petronas Gas fell 0.22 percent, PPB Group rallied 1.10 percent, Press Metal climbed 0.81 percent, QL Resources surged 3.66 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.16 percent, Sime Darby sank 0.56 percent, SD Guthrie gathered 0.44 percent, Sunway improved 0.62 percent, Telekom Malaysia dropped 0.61 percent, Tenaga Nasional gained 0.56 percent, YTL Corporation declined 1.46 percent, YTL Power lost 0.28 percent and Kuala Lumpur Kepong, MRDIY and Public Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is pedestrian as the major averages opened lower on Monday, moved into the green by midday but faded going into the close to end mixed and little changed.

The Dow dipped 1.11 points or 0.00 percent to finish at 42,761.76, while the NASDAQ added 61.28 points or 0.31 percent to close are 19,591.24 and the S&P 500 perked 5.52 points or 0.09 percent to end at 6,005.88.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders awaited any news of U.S.-China trade talks that in London later today that could help ease trade tensions between the two superpowers. While most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, semiconductor stocks moved sharply higher on the day, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 2.0 percent to its best closing level in over three months.

Crude oil rose on Monday due to hopes sparked by US-China trade talks and that the nearing summer travel season may boost energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery settled at $65.29 per barrel, up 71 cents, the highest since April 3.