Little Movement Seen For Malaysia Stock Market

The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking almost 20 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,450-point plateau and it may be stuck in neutral again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement, although bargain hunting would likely limit any downside. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Friday as losses from the financials and telecoms were offset by gains from the plantations.

For the day, the index dipped 1.89 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 1,446.09 after trading between 1,442.26 and 1,449.23.

Among the actives, Celcomdigi slumped 0.90 percent, while CIMB Group tumbled 1.60 percent, Genting retreated 1.35 percent, Genting Malaysia declined 1.15 percent, IHH Healthcare advanced 0.84 percent, IOI Corporation surged 2.31 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 0.71 percent, Maxis lost 0.51 percent, Maybank collected 0.33 percent, MISC climbed 1.72 percent, MRDIY sank 0.64 percent, Petronas Chemicals rose 0.15 percent, PPB Group rallied 1.78 percent, Press Metal tanked 2.06 percent, Public Bank dropped 0.72 percent, RHB Capital slid 0.35 percent, Sime Darby stumbled 1.40 percent, Sime Darby Plantations jumped 1.86 percent, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.40 percent, Westports Holdings gained 0.29 percent and Axiata, Dialog Group and Tenaga Nasional were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened lower on Friday but recovered to finish mixed and little changed.

The Dow rose 25.96 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 34,500.66, while the NASDAQ shed 26.12 points or 0.20 percent to close at 13,290.78 and the S&P 500 eased 0.65 points or 0.01 percent to end at 4,369.71.

For the week, the Dow shed 2.2 percent, the S&P lost 2.1 percent and the NASDAQ sank 2.6 percent.

The lack of direction on Wall Street came as traders remained cautious amid concerns the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates higher for longer to control inflation.

The market had maintained a negative bias thanks to hawkish minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting and higher bond yields, but bargain hunting pared the losses.

Oil prices climbed higher Friday, extending gains from the previous session after data indicated a drop in output, while a weaker dollar contributed as well to the uptick in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures added $0.86 or 1.1 percent to $81.25 a barrel. WTI Crude futures shed 2 percent for the week.