The Malaysia stock market headed south again on Monday, one session after halting the three-day slide in which it had stumbled more than a dozen 5 points or 0.8 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,570-point plateau although it's likely to bounce higher again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian is positive, supported by crude oil prices and bargain hunting. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.
The KLCI finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the glove makers, financial shares and industrial issues, while the plantations were mixed.
For the day, the index sank 16.81 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 1,572.24 after trading between 1,567.84 and 1,580.65. Volume was 6.041 billion shares worth 2.798 billion ringgit. There were 784 decliners and 309 gainers.
Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 2.69 percent, while CIMB Group and PPB Group both were down 0.22 percent, Dialog Group lost 0.67 percent, Digi.com surged 3.35 percent, Genting weakened 1.17 percent, Genting Malaysia sank 1.01 percent, Hartalega Holdings shed 0.71 percent, IHH Healthcare retreated 1.71 percent, IOI Corporation rose 0.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 0.28 percent, Maybank slipped 0.24 percent, Maxis spiked 1.80 percent, MISC surrendered 1.27 percent, Petronas Chemicals slid 0.63 percent, Press Metal tanked 3.06 percent, Public Bank dipped 0.48 percent, RHB Capital eased 0.19 percent, Sime Darby declined 1.34 percent, Sime Darby Plantations plummeted 5.68 percent, Supermax skidded 2.67 percent, Telekom Malaysia dropped 0.98 percent, Tenaga Nasional plunged 4.21 percent and Top Glove fell 0.64 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is solid as stocks opened mostly higher on Monday and only accelerated as the day progressed.
The Dow surged 586.89 points or 1.76 percent to finish at 33,876.97, while the NASDAQ climbed 111.10 points or 0.79 percent to end at 14,141.48 and the S&P 500 jumped 58.34 points or 1.40 percent to close at 4,224.79.
The rebound on Wall Street reflected bargain hunting after the steep drop seen last Friday dragged the Dow down to its lowest closing level in well over two months.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis later today. Powell is due to discuss the Fed's response to the pandemic but could also face questions about the outlook for monetary policy.
Crude oil prices rose sharply Monday and lifted the most active WTI Crude futures contracts to their highest finish in more than two years amid rising optimism about energy demand. Weakness from the greenback also contributed as West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July rose $2.02 or 2.8 percent at $73.66 a barrel.
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