Malaysia Stock Market May Extend Monday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Monday wrote a finish to the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 10 points or 0.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,450-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on rising treasury yields and ahead of key U.S. employment data later this week. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index dipped 5.36 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 1,451.02 after trading between 1,448.17 and 1,457.02.

Among the actives, Axiata rallied 3.00 percent, while Celcomdigi slid 0.17 percent, CIMB Group collected 0.17 percent, Genting fell 0.21 percent, IOI Corporation rose 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 0.47 percent, Maxis lost 0.25 percent, MISC declined 0.69 percent, MRDIY eased 0.13 percent, Nestle Malaysia plunged 5.08 percent, Petronas Chemicals plummeted 2.08 percent, Press Metal slumped 0.62 percent, Public Bank surrendered 0.93 percent, RHB Capital shed 0.37 percent, Sime Darby tumbled 1.24 percent, Sime Darby Plantations dropped 0.44 percent, Telekom Malaysia retreated 0.75 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.40 percent, Westports Holdings skidded 0.56 percent and PPB Group, Dialog Group, Maybank, Genting Malaysia, IHH Healthcare and AMMB Holdings were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday, pared their losses but still ended firmly in the red.

The Dow dropped 41.06 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 36,204.44, while the NASDAQ slumped 119.54 points or 0.84 percent to close at 14,185.49 and the S&P 500 sank 24.85 points or 0.54 percent to end at 4,569.78.

A rebound by treasury yields contributed to the weakness on Wall Street, as the yield on the benchmark ten-year note bounced off its lowest levels in three months.

Selling pressure waned over the course of the session, however, as traders looked ahead to the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

In economic news, The Commerce Department released a report showing factory orders pulled back by much more than expected in the month of October.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Monday, pushing the most active futures contract to a nearly three-week low amid worries about the outlook for demand and skepticism about OPEC output cuts. The dollar's rise also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended lower by $1.03 or 1.4 percent at $73.04 a barrel, the lowest settlement since November 16.