Steady Start Seen For Malaysia Stock Market

The Malaysia stock market has ticked lower in back-to-back sessions, although it has given up not quite 3 points in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,450-point plateau and it’s expected to remain in that neighborhood again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat amidst a lack of catalysts. The European and U.S. bourses were little changed and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished barely lower on Monday as losses from the financials were offset by support from the plantations and a mixed picture from the telecoms.

For the day, the index eased 0.87 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 1,452.68 after trading between 1,452.12 and 1,460.98.

Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 1.88 percent, while Dialog Group surged 3.12 percent, Digi.com dropped 0.69 percent, Genting eased 0.21 percent, INARI soared 2.09 percent, IOI Corporation climbed 0.78 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 0.76 percent, Maybank fell 0.23 percent, Maxis rose 0.50 percent, MISC improved 0.54 percent, MRDIY added 0.60 percent, Petronas Chemicals gained 0.55 percent, Press Metal perked 0.39 percent, Public Bank retreated 0.97 percent, RHB Capital declined 1.22 percent, Sime Darby slumped 0.88 percent, Sime Darby Plantations jumped 0.94 percent, Telekom Malaysia spiked 1.01 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.64 percent and PPB Group, CIMB Group, IHH Healthcare, Genting Malaysia and Nestle Malaysia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher on Monday but faded badly in the afternoon, finishing mixed and little changed.

The Dow added 40.47 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 33,431.44, while the NASDAQ dipped 13.27 points or 0.11 percent to close at 11,675.74 and the S&P 500 perked 2.78 points or 0.07 percent to end at 4,048.42.

The early strength on Wall Street came as treasury yields moved notably lower amid optimism that the Federal Reserve is close to finishing its aggressive interest rate hikes.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as treasury yields rebounded ahead of congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell – who is due to testify before the Senate Banking Committee later today and the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.

The Labor Department’s closely watched monthly employment report is also likely to attract attention later in the week.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Monday after Saudi Arabia signaled that it sees oil demand picking up in Asia and Europe by raising most prices for crude shipments to the regions. West Texas International Crude oil futures for April advanced $0.78 or 1 percent at $80.46 a barrel.