Malaysia Stock Market Inherits Firm Lead For Monday's Trade

The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back trading days, sinking almost 30 points or 1.9 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,545-point plateau although it's looking at a higher open on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests a higher open on bargain hunting, although an increase in Covid-19 cases may limit the upside. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index lost 11.23 points or 0.72 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,546.02 after trading as low as 1,509.16. Volume was 8.032 billion shares worth 4.771 billion ringgit. There were 803 decliners and 283 gainers.

Among the actives, Hap Seng Consolidated surged 5.70 percent, while CIMB Group plummeted 3.54 percent, Public Bank plunged 2.55 percent, Petronas Chemicals soared 2.54 percent, AMMB Holdings tanked 2.12 percent, Maybank tumbled 2.10 percent, RHB Capital skidded 1.96 percent, RHB Capital retreated 1.96 percent, Press Metal declined 1.91 percent, Sime Darby spiked 1.36 percent, IHH Healthcare surrendered 1.27 percent, Top Glove jumped 1.20 percent, Dialog Group dropped 0.81 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong sank 0.71 percent, Tenaga Nasional shed 0.67 percent, Hartalega Holdings advanced 0.64 percent, Maxis lost 0.56 percent, Axiata added 0.55 percent, Digi.com and Genting both fell 0.45 percent, MICS dipped 0.36 percent, PPB Group rose 0.11 percent and Petronas Dagangan, Sime Darby Plantations, Malaysia Airports Holdings, IOI Corporation and Genting Malaysia all were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks moved sharply higher on Friday, recovering from heavy selling a day earlier.

The Dow jumped 477.34 points or 1.90 percent to finish at 25,605.54, while the NASDAQ advanced 96.08 points or 1.01 percent to end at 9,588.81 and the S&P 500 climbed 39.21 points or 1.31 percent to close at 3,041.31. For the week, the Dow shed 5.6 percent, the NASDAQ lost 2.3 percent and the S&P fell 4.8 percent.

Bargain hunting contributed to the strength on Wall Street as traders looked to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels. The steep drop on Thursday marked the worst day for the markets since the sell-off seen as worries about the coronavirus began to escalate in March.

Adding to the positive sentiment, the University of Michigan noted a continued rebound in U.S. consumer sentiment in June. Also, the Labor Department reported a bigger than expected jump in U.S. import prices in May.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Friday for their first weekly loss in seven weeks as uncertainty about energy demand amid worries about the global growth outlook weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended down $0.08 or 0.2 percent at $36.26 a barrel.