Malaysia Shares Tipped To Open To The Downside On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market turned lower again on Monday, one session after snapping the two-day losing streak in which it had slipped more than 7 points or 0.4 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,585-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on growing U.S. tariff concerns. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets are also expected to open under pressure. The KLCI finished modestly lower on Monday as losses from the financial shares and industrials were tempered by support from the plantation stocks. For the day, the index dipped 6.78 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 1,584.25 after trading between 1,577.95 and 1,586.39. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail gained 0.47 percent, while Axiata rallied 2.43 percent, Celcomdigi added 0.87 percent, CIMB Group rose 0.24 percent, Gamuda plunged 5.67 percent, IHH Healthcare eased 0.14 percent, IOI Corporation strengthened 1.59 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong jumped 2.00 percent, Maxis and Hong Leong Bank both advanced 1.17 percent, Maybank sank 0.19 percent, MISC accelerated 2.24 percent, MRDIY surged 3.38 percent, Nestle Malaysia and PPB Group both improved 1.10 percent, Petronas Chemicals plummeted 9.66 percent, Press Metal slumped 0.97 percent, Public Bank dropped 0.67 percent, QL Resources climbed 1.29 percent, Sime Darby soared 2.70 percent, SD Guthrie spiked 2.67 percent, Sunway stumbled 1.88 percent, Tenaga Nasional tanked 2.43 percent, YTL Corporation declined 1.53 percent, YTL Power retreated 1.55 percent and Telekom Malaysia and RHB Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened higher on Monday but faded quickly and finished mixed.

The Dow added 33.19 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 43,461.21, while the NASDAQ tumbled 237.08 points or 1.21 percent to close at 19,286.93 and the S&P 500 sank 29.88 points or 0.50 percent to end at 5,983.25.

The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 ended the day firmly in the red after President Donald Trump said previously delayed tariffs on Canada and Mexico are "going forward on time." The volatility on Wall Street also came as traders looked ahead to the release of earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA). The AI darling and market leader is scheduled to release its fourth quarter results after the close of trading on Wednesday.

Oil prices climbed higher on Monday as fresh sanctions by the United States on Iran raised the possibility of a drop in global supplies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April settled higher by $0.30 at $70.70 a barrel.