Malaysia Bourse May Stop The Bleeding On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in four straight sessions, slipping almost 25 points or 1.4 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,725-point plateau and it's due for support on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on ongoing pessimism over the conflict in the Middle East and concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and telecoms, while the plantations were mixed.

For the day, the index sank 12.51 points or 0.72 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,727.71 after peaking at 1,742.60. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail slumped 1.20 percent, while Axiata cratered 3.51 percent, Celcomdigi slid 0.31 percent, CIMB Group dropped 1.02 percent, Gamuda tanked 2.44 percent, IHH Healthcare perked 0.11 percent, IOI Corporation added 0.50 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 0.59 percent, Maybank dipped 0.18 percent, MRDIY retreated 1.69 percent, Nestle Malaysia plummeted 4.79 percent, Petronas Chemicals rallied 2.50 percent, Petronas Dagangan plunged 3.74 percent, Petronas Gas tumbled 1.87 percent, PPB Group crashed 2.59 percent, Press Metal eased 0.11 percent, Public Bank declined 1.63 percent, RHB Bank shed 0.60 percent, Sime Darby stumbled 1.83 percent, SD Guthrie climbed 1.18 percent, Sunway fell 0.55 percent, Sunway Healthcare skidded 1.07 percent, Telekom Malaysia slipped 0.53 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.69 percent, YTL Corporation contracted 1.40 percent, YTL Power rose 0.25 percent and AMMB Holdings, Maxis and MISC were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened higher on Monday but quickly turned tail, finally ending mixed.

The Dow gained 159.95 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 49,686.12, while the NASDAQ slumped 134.41 points or 0.51 percent to end at 26,090.73 and the S&P 500 dipped 5.45 points or 0.07 percent to close at 7,403.05.

The U.S.-Iran war has effectively closed the vital Strait of Hormuz, leading to a spike in crude oil prices and concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates.

Treasury yields soared last Friday amid speculation that the Federal Reserve's next interest rate move could be an increase rather than a cut.

The price of crude oil and treasury yields moved to the upside over the course of the day, adding to the negative sentiment on Wall Street.

Crude oil prices surged on Monday as the U.S. takes time to respond to Iran's new peace proposal. West Texas Intermediate crude for June was last up $3.27 or 3.10 percent at $108.69 per barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will provide April numbers for consumer prices later today; in March, inflation was up 0.3 percent on month and 1.7 percent on year.