Malaysia Stock Market Due For Support On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in six straight sessions, slipping more than 35 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,610-point plateau although it may finally find traction on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive following a sharp drop in the price of oil. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

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

For the day, the index shed 7.83 points or 0.48 percent to finish at 1,610.47 after trading between 1,609.87 and 1,630.39.

Among the actives, Axiata lost 0.43 percent, while Celcomdigi added 0.58 percent, CIMB Group slumped 1.23 percent, Genting Malaysia skidded 0.88 percent, IHH Healthcare tanked 1.87 percent, IOI Corporation gained 0.53 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong soared 2.09 percent, Maxis tumbled 1.36 percent, Maybank retreated 1.33 percent, MISC improved 0.67 percent, MRDIY gathered 0.45 percent, Nestle Malaysia surged 2.79 percent, Petronas Chemicals strengthened 1.46 percent, Petronas Gas declined 1.25 percent, PPB Group rallied 1.69 percent, Press Metal fell 0.42 percent, Public Bank advanced 1.13 percent, QL Resources climbed 1.27 percent, RHB Bank sank 0.78 percent, Sime Darby jumped 1.70 percent, SD Guthrie shed 0.63 percent, Sunway plummeted 3.14 percent, Telekom Malaysia perked 0.31 percent, Tenaga Nasional plunged 2.64 percent, YTL Corporation rose 0.51 percent, YTL Power spiked 2.00 percent and Genting was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened modestly higher on Monday and stayed that way throughout the trading day.

The Dow rallied 273.17 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 42,387.57, while the NASDAQ gained 48.58 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 18,567.19 and the S&P 500 added 15.40 points or 0.27 percent to end at 5,823.52.

The strength on Wall Street came amid a steep drop by the price of oil. Oil prices fell sharply on Monday as concerns about supply disruptions faded after Israel avoided hitting Iranian oil facilities over the weekend. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December plunged $4.40 or 6.1 percent at $67.38 a barrel.

Meanwhile, traders were also looking ahead to the release of key U.S. economic data later in the week. The monthly jobs report as well as a report on personal income and spending that includes the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation readings are likely to be in the spotlight.

The data could impact the outlook for the economy as well as expectations regarding how quickly the Fed will lower interest rates.