Malaysia Bourse May Be Stuck In Neutral On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in two of three 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 above the 1,440-point plateau although it may head south again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on weak earnings and slightly higher inflation. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index perked 1.30 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 1,441.90 after trading between 1,439.33 and 1,444.15.

Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 1.70 percent, while Celcomdigi slumped 0.71 percent, Dialog Group gained 0.47 percent, Genting sank 0.49 percent, IHH Healthcare rose 0.17 percent, IOI Corporation added 0.77 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.18 percent, Maxis slid 0.25 percent, MISC and Petronas Chemicals both advanced 1.11 percent, MRDIY jumped 1.36 percent, PPB Group rallied 1.31 percent, Press Metal climbed 1.24 percent, RHB Capital and QL Resources both fell 0.36 percent, Sime Darby shed 0.44 percent, Telekom Malaysia lost 0.40 percent, Tenaga Nasional dipped 0.20 percent, Westports Holdings improved 0.90 percent and Sime Darby Plantations, Public Bank, CIMB Group, Maybank and Genting Malaysia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened mixed on Friday and finished the same way.

The Dow tumbled 366.71 points or 1.12 percent to finish at 32,417.59, while the NASDAQ added 47.41 points or 0.38 percent to close at 12,643.01 and the S&P 500 sank 19.86 points or 0.48 percent to end at 4,117.37.

For the week, the Dow dropped 2.1 percent, the S&P 500 slumped 2.5 percent and the NASDAQ stumbled 2.6 percent.

The rebound by the NASDAQ reflected a positive reaction to earnings news from Amazon (AMZN) and semiconductor giant Intel (INTC), which beat estimates - while disappointing earnings from Chevron (CVX) weighed heavily on the Dow.

Traders were also digesting a Commerce Department report showing that consumer prices rose by 0.4 percent in September, matching the increase in August. Economists had expected prices to rise by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Friday as tensions in the Middle East escalated with Israeli ground forces expanding operations in Gaza. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December rose $2.33 or 2.8 percent at $85.54 a barrel. WTI crude futures posted a weekly loss of 3.6 percent.