The Malaysia stock market on Monday halted the three-day slide in which it had fallen more than 20 points or 1.4 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,520-point plateau although it's expected to open under pressure on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian is soft on doubts for stimulus to combat the rising number of coronavirus cases. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The KLCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares, plantation stocks and rubber glove makers.
For the day, the index climbed 14.27 points or 0.95 percent to finish at 1,518.11 after trading between 1,505.92 and 1,521.91. Volume was 9.494 billion shares worth 5.431 billion ringgit. There were 722 gainers and 387 decliners.
Among the actives, Top Glove surged 3.73 percent, while Hartalega Holdings soared 3.37 percent, Malaysia Airports Holdings spiked 2.47 percent, Petronas Chemicals accelerated 2.39 percent, IOI Corporation rallied 1.90 percent, Sime Darby Plantations jumped 1.63 percent, Digi.com climbed 1.51 percent, MISC tumbled 1.06 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gathered 1.02 percent, Sime Darby skidded 0.83 percent, Maxis and Dialog Group both perked 0.81 percent, Press Metal advanced 0.76 percent, Maybank collected 0.70 percent, PPB Group sank 0.63 percent, Tenaga Nasional added 0.60 percent, Genting Malaysia gained 0.50 percent, RHB Capital rose 0.47 percent, AMMB Holdings increased 0.34 percent, Genting and CIMB Group both improved 0.33 percent, IHH Healthcare was up 0.20 percent, Public Bank dipped 0.13 percent and Hap Seng Consolidated and Axiata Group were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as stocks showed a lack of direction early in Monday's trade but headed firmly south as the day progressed.
The Dow tumbled 410.89 points or 1.44 percent to finish at 28,195.42, while the NASDAQ sank 192.67 points or 1.65 percent to close at 11,478.88 and the S&P 500 dropped 56.89 points or 1.63 percent to end at 3,426.92.
The weakness on Wall Street reflected concerns about whether lawmakers in Washington will reach an agreement on a new stimulus bill, with reports suggesting there remains an array of additional differences that must be addressed in a comprehensive manner in the next 48 hours.
In economic news, the National Association of Homebuilders said that homebuilder confidence climbed to a fresh record high in October versus expectations for no change.
Crude oil futures ended slightly lower on Monday, weighed down by lingering concerns about energy demand outlook due to rising coronavirus cases. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for November ended at $40.83 a barrel, down $0.05 or 0.1 percent at $40.83 a barrel.
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