Malaysia Bourse May Extend Friday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Friday wrote a finish to the five-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 35 points or 2 percent, The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,675-point plateau and it may take further damage on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets calls for little movement with perhaps a touch of weakness in thin trade between the Christmas and New Year's holidays. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were slightly lower and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index eased 1.21 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 1,677.10 after trading between 1,670.83 and 1,678.29. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail added 0.53 percent, while Axiata skidded 0.77 percent, Celcomdigi shed 0.62 percent, CIMB Group collected 0.49 percent, Gamuda stumbled 1.96 percent, IHH Healthcare contracted 0.92 percent, IOI Corporation sank 0.74 percent, Maybank dropped 0.76 percent, MISC and RHB Bank both advanced 0.78 percent, Nestle Malaysia eased 0.09 percent, Petronas Chemicals slumped 0.82 percent, Petronas Dagangan gained 0.51 percent, Petronas Gas and Tenaga Nasional both rose 0.44 percent, Press Metal fell 0.14 percent, QL Resources retreated 1.28 percent, Sime Darby tumbled 1.90 percent, SD Guthrie rallied 1.25 percent, Sunway declined 0.88 percent, Telekom Malaysia climbed 0.87 percent, YTL Corporation lost 0.48 percent, YTL Power jumped 1.49 percent and Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Maxis, AMMB Holdings, PPB Group, MRDIY and Public Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests slight consolidation as the major averages hugged the line on Friday and finished very slightly under water.

The Dow shed 29,19 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 48,710.97, while the NASDAQ slipped 20.21 points or 0.09 percent to close at 23,593.10 and the S&P 500 eased 2.11 points or 0.03 percent to end at 6,929.94.

For the week, the S&P 500 shot up 1.4 percent, while the Dow and the NASDAQ both jumped 1.2 percent.

The lackluster performance on Wall Street came as many traders remained away from their desks following the Christmas Day holiday on Thursday, leading to below average trading activity.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves following the recent upward trend, which lifted the Dow and S&P 500 to new record closing highs.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Friday on supply concerns due to the intensifying conflict between the United States and Venezuela. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was down $1.41 or 2.42 percent at $56.94 per barrel.