Malaysia Bourse: Resistance Expected At 1,500 Points

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has tracked higher in three straight sessions, collecting almost 25 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just shy of the 1,500-point plateau, although the rally is likely to stall on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on continuing concerns over the possibility of a trade war. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished barely higher on Monday following gains from the telecoms, weakness from the financials and a mixed picture from the plantations.

For the day, the index perked 0.07 points or 0.00 percent to finish at 1,499.47 after trading between 1,494.27 and 1,502.08.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail retreated 1.34 percent, while Axiata surged 4.28 percent, Celcomdigi soared 2.23 percent, CIMB Group dipped 0.29 percent, Gamuda was down 0.25 percent, Hong Leong Bank added 0.71 percent, IOI Corporation slid 0.27 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong slumped 0.99 percent, Maxis and SD Guthrie both rallied 0.87 percent, Maybank slipped 0.40 percent, MISC lost 0.42 percent, Nestle Malaysia jumped 0.88 percent, Petronas Chemicals declined 1.26 percent, PPB Group eased 0.17 percent, Press Metal fell 0.41 percent, Public Bank collected 0.23 percent, QL Resources shed 0.43 percent, RHB Bank sank 0.45 percent, Sime Darby stumbled 2.40 percent, Sunway skidded 0.68 percent, Tenaga Nasional gave up 0.15 percent, YTL Power spiked 1.87 percent and Telekom Malaysia, YTL Corporation, MRDIY, IHH Healthcare and Petronas Gas were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened sharply lower on Monday and remained deep in the red throughout the session.

The Dow plummeted 971.82 points or 2.48 percent to finish at 38,170.41, while the NASDAQ tumbled 415.55 points or 2.55 percent to close at 16,870.37 and the S&P 500 dropped 124.50 points or 2.36 percent to end at 5,158.20.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid lingering concerns about a global trade war as traders await signs of progress from President Donald Trump's trade talks.

Potentially adding to the worries, China has threatened to retaliate against any countries that reach a trade deal with the U.S. at the expense of China's interests.

Trump's continued attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell added to the negative sentiment; he called on the Fed to lower rates last week, declaring, "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough!"

Crude oil prices pulled back sharply Monday on reports of progress in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, while trade war concerns also weighed. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery plunged $1.60 or 2.5 percent to $63.08 a barrel.