(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last nine trading days since the end of the six-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 15 points or 1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,495-point plateau although it figures to turn lower again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, likely led lower by weakness from the oil and technology stocks. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow that lead.
The KLCI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the financial shares and plantation stocks were dented by weakness from the glove makers.
For the day, the index added 5.98 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 1494.86 after trading between 1,491.85 and 1,501.88. Volume was 2.629 billion shares worth 1.85 billion ringgit. There were 491 gainers and 386 decliners. Among the actives, Axiata sank 0.79 percent, while CIMB Group gathered 1.16 percent, Dialog Group climbed 1.22 percent, Digi.com tumbled 1.24 percent, Genting improved 0.22 percent, Genting Malaysia jumped 1.42 percent, Hartalega Holdings plunged 3.46 percent, IHH Healthcare fell 0.30 percent, IOI Corporation rose 0.27 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong surged 3.27 percent, Maybank collected 0.74 percent, Maxis lost 0.45 percent, MISC spiked 1.68 percent, MRDIY gained 0.28 percent, Petronas Chemicals accelerated 1.54 percent, PPB Group eased 0.12 percent, Press Metal was up 0.12 percent, Public Bank perked 0.25 percent, RHB Capital advanced 0.56 percent, Sime Darby Plantations added 0.53 percent, Telekom Malaysia soared 2.30 percent, Tenaga Nasional rallied 1.31 percent, Top Glove plummeted 6.94 percent and Sime Darby was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened in the red on Monday and stayed under water throughout the trading day.
The Dow tumbled 320.04 points or 0.89 percent to finish at 35,650.95, while the NASDAQ sank 217.32 points or 1.39 percent to close at 15,413.28 and the S&P 500 lost 43.05 points or 0.91 percent to end at 4,668.97.
The pullback on Wall Street reflected profit taking, as traders cashed in on some of the strength in the markets last week. The major averages all moved sharply higher last week, with the S&P 500 ending last Friday's trading at a new record closing high.
Traders may also have been moving money out of stocks and into safer havens ahead of the Federal Reserve's money policy announcement on Wednesday.
The Fed is expected to discuss accelerating the pace of tapering its asset purchase program, with reports suggesting the central bank could double the rate to $30 billion per month.
Crude oil futures settled lower on Monday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand amid worries about the impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended down by $0.38 or 0.5 percent at $71.29 a barrel.
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