Malaysia Shares May Find Traction On Monday

The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, sinking more than 5 points or 0.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,460-point plateau although it’s looking at a steady start on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index slipped 4.01 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 1,460.67 after trading between 1,458.53 and 1,462.31.

Among the actives, Axiata declined 1.22 percent, while Celcomdigi fell 0.23 percent, CIMB Group gained 0.35 percent, Dialog Group plunged 2.73 percent, Genting tumbled 1.37 percent, Genting Malaysia slumped 0.78 percent, IHH Healthcare and IOI Corporation both dropped 0.50 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.09 percent, Maybank slid 0.22 percent, MISC advanced 0.96 percent, MRDIY retreated 1.24 percent, Petronas Chemicals tanked 1.50 percent, PPB Group sank 0.40 percent, Press Metal perked 0.21 percent, Public Bank lost 0.24 percent, Sime Darby rallied 1.67 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 0.58 percent, Tenaga Nasional shed 0.30 percent, Westports Holdings improved 0.86 percent and RHB Capital, Sime Darby Plantations, Petronas Gas, Maxis and AMMB Holdings were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened lower on Friday but broke into the green by midday and finished with mild gains.

The Dow rose 1.78 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 34,947.28, while the NASDAQ added 11.78 points or 0.08 percent to close at 14,125.48 and the S&P 500 gained 5.78 points or 0.13 percent to end at 4,514.02.

For the week, the NASDAQ surged 2.4 percent, the S&P jumped 2.2 percent and the Row rallied 1.9 percent.

Optimism about the outlook for interest rates has…