Mild Upside Seen For Malaysia Stock Market

The Malaysia stock market on Monday ended the two-day slide in which it had slumped almost 20 points or 1.2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,450-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic after heavy selling in the previous week. The European and U.S. markets finished mostly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

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

For the day, the index picked up 4.48 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 1,450.57 after trading between 1,445.10 and 1,451.68.

Among the actives, Celcomdigi slumped 0.91 percent, while CIMB Group rallied 0.90 percent, Dialog Group retreated 1.39 percent, Genting and Sime Darby Plantations both lost 0.23 percent, IHH Healthcare sank 0.67 percent, IOI Corporation soared 2.01 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 0.53 percent, Maxis surged 4.83 percent, Maybank eased 0.11 percent, Petronas Chemicals jumped 1.47 percent, PPB Group dropped 0.87 percent, Press Metal advanced 0.84 percent, Public Bank collected 0.24 percent, RHB Capital added 0.71 percent, Telekom Malaysia shed 0.40 percent, Tenaga Nasional spiked 1.91 percent, Westports Holdings tumbled 2.57 percent and Petronas Dagangan, MISC, MRDIY, Sime Darby, Genting Malaysia and Axiata were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly positive as the major averages opened mixed on Monday, slumped midday but recovered late, although the Dow still finished in the red.

The Dow shed 36.97 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 34,463.69, while the NASDAQ jumped 206.81 points or 1.56 percent to end at 13,497.59 and the S&P 500 gained 30.06 points or 0.69 percent to close at 4,399.77.

The spike by the NASDAQ came as traders picked up tech stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness, with the index bouncing off its lowest closing level in two months.

Cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks (PANW) helped to fuel the tech rally after reporting standout gains, while Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) weighed on the Dow.

Traders continued to look ahead to the economic summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where major central bankers are congregating later in the week to deliberate on monetary policy.

Crude oil prices fell on Monday, weighed down by concerns about the outlook for energy demand, although the extension of production cuts by OPEC helped limit the downside. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September fell $0.53 or 0.7 percent at $80.72 a barrel. WTI Crude futures for October settled at $80.12 a barrel, down $0.54 or 0.7 percent.