Mild Upside Seen For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the four-day winning streak in which it had rallied almost 40 points or 2.4 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,720-point plateau and it's likely to remain rangebound again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on easing oil prices and support from technology shares. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Friday following losses from the industrials and mixed performances from the financial shares, plantations and telecoms.

For the day, the index dipped 1.36 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 1,720.34 after trading between 1,719.73 and 1,724.30. Among the actives, Axiata retreated 1.75 percent, while Celcomdigi shed 0.67 percent, CIMB Group rose 0.26 percent, Gamuda plummeted 3.59 percent, IHH Healthcare was down 0.34 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong dipped 0.48 percent, Maybank fell 0.53 percent, MRDIY soared 1.80 percent, Nestle Malaysia rallied 1.33 percent, Petronas Chemicals dropped 0.90 percent, Petronas Dagangan sank 0.78 percent, Press Metal surged 4.34 percent, Public Bank lost 0.62 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.24 percent, Sime Darby tumbled 1.83 percent, SD Guthrie added 0.50 percent, Sunway Healthcare spiked 1.59 percent, Telekom Malaysia perked 0.14 percent, Tenaga Nasional gained 0.41 percent, YTL Corporation slipped 0.50 percent, YTL Power slumped 1.02 percent and 99 Speed Mart Retail, AMMB Holdings, Sunway, MISC, Petronas Gas, Maxis, IOI Corporation and PPB Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the Dow opened lower and finished the same way, while the NASDAQ and S&P began in the green and picked up steam as the day progressed.

The Dow shed 79.59 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 49,230.71, while the NASDAQ surged 398.10 points or 1.63 percent to end at 24,836.60 and the S&P 500 gained 56.68 points or 0.80 percent to close at 7,165.08.

For the week, the Dow slipped 0.4 percent, the NASDAQ jumped 1.5 percent and the S&P added 0.6 percent.

The rebound by the broader markets came amid a spike by shares of Intel (INTC) after the chipmaker reported much better than expected first quarter earnings and forecast Q2 revenues above estimates.

Buying interest was also generated in reaction to a pullback by the price of crude oil, which has soared over the past few sessions. President Donald Trump's announcement of a three-week extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has also weighed on crude oil prices.

Crude oil prices slumped on Friday as the prospects of a peace deal between U.S. and Iran gather steam, lowering Middle East tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was down $1.68 or 1.75 percent at $94.17 per barrel.