Malaysia Bourse May Reverse Friday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Friday ended the five-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 40 points or 2.2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,750-point plateau although it may see renewed support on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher on strong employment data from the United States. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are expected to move mostly higher.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index shed 10.79 points or 0.61 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,748.06 after peaking at 1,760.19. Among the actives, AMMB Holdings fell 0.46 percent, while Axiata plunged 3.72 percent, Celcomdigi slid 0.33 percent, CIMB Group slumped 1.37 percent, Gamuda and Petronas Gas both shed 0.66 percent, IHH Healthcare perked 0.11 percent, IOI Corporation declined 1.61 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 0.47 percent, Maxis retreated 1.64 percent, Maybank sank 0.71 percent, MISC skidded 1.19 percent, MRDIY tanked 2.92 percent, Nestle Malaysia contracted 1.44 percent, Petronas Chemicals jumped 1.70 percent, Petronas Dagangan surged 2.43 percent, PPB Group eased 0.18 percent, Press Metal dipped 0.23 percent, Public Bank was down 0.20 percent, RHB Bank slipped 0.36 percent, Sime Darby soared 2.29 percent, SD Guthrie tumbled 2.26 percent, Sunway rose 0.18 percent, Sunway Healthcare added 0.53 percent, Telekom Malaysia dropped 0.78 percent, Tenaga Nasional was up 0.14 percent, YTL Corporation plummeted 4.24 percent, YTL Power stumbled 2.12 percent and 99 Speed Mart Retail was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and largely stayed that way, although the Dow spent the ay bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

The Dow rose 12.19 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 49,609.16, while the NASDAQ rallied 440.88 points or 1.71 percent to end at 26,247.08 and the S&P 500 gained 61.82 points or 0.84 percent to close at 7,398.93.

For the week, the NASDAQ spiked 4.4 percent, the S&P 500 jumped 2.3 percent and the Dow crept up 0.2 percent.

The strength on Wall Street came following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing much stronger than expected U.S. job growth in April.

The data helped ease concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East even after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz.

Crude oil prices inched higher Friday as Middle East tensions renewed between the U.S. and Iran. Iran is also delaying its response to a U.S. peace proposal, adding to the uncertainty. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $0.36 or 0.36 percent at $95.17 per barrel.