Little Movement Expected For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market headed south again on Monday, one session after halting the five-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 15 points or 1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,605-point plateau and it's likely to remain steady in that neighborhood again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with strong support expected from the technology companies. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead. The KLCI finished slightly lower on Monday following losses from the industrials and financials and mixed performances from the plantations and telecoms. For the day, the index eased 1.90 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 1,606.85 after trading between 1,603.21 and 1,609.43. Among the actives, Axiata and Sime Darby both rallied 2.53 percent, while Celcomdigi climbed 1.13 percent, CIMB Group sank 0.37 percent, Genting slumped 0.55 percent, IHH Healthcare lost 0.28 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong jumped 1.21 percent, Maxis advanced 0.85 percent, Maybank fell 0.20 percent, MISC eased 0.13 percent, MRDIY added 0.55 percent, Nestle Malaysia stumbled 0.78 percent, Petronas Chemicals gained 0.20 percent, PPB Group plummeted 2.70 percent, Press Metal dropped 0.40 percent, Public Bank declined 0.66 percent, QL Resources tumbled 1.05 percent, RHB Bank dipped 0.15 percent, Telekom Malaysia shed 0.30 percent, YTL Corporation retreated 0.92 percent, YTL Power skidded 0.54 percent and SD Guthrie, Sunway, Tenaga Nasional, Genting Malaysia, IOI Corporation and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened mixed on Monday and finished largely the same way.

The Dow shed 110.58 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 43,717.48, while the NASDAQ surged 247.17 points or 1.24 percent to close at a record 20,173.89 and the S&P 500 advanced 22.99 points or 0.38 percent to end at 6,074.08.

The general strength on Wall Street reflected optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision later today. The Fed is widely expected to continue cutting interest rates, with CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicating a 99.1 percent chance the central bank will lower rates by another 25 basis points.

The surge by the NASDAQ came amid significant strength among semiconductor stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumping by 2.1 percent. Networking stocks also saw considerable strength, extending a recent upward trend, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 2.0 percent to a new record closing high.

Buying interest was somewhat subdued, however, as recent data showing inflation remains somewhat sticky has led to some worries the Fed will lower rates slower than previously anticipated next year.

In U.S. economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report showing a sharp pullback by its reading on regional manufacturing activity in the month of December.

Crude oil prices fell on Monday amid concerns about the outlook for demand after weak economic data from China and the threat of tariffs. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January closed down $0.58 at $70.71 a barrel.