The Malaysia stock market headed south again on Monday, one session after snapping the five-day losing streak in which it had stumbled more than 25 points or 1.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,510-point plateau although it's likely to rebound again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is slightly positive, with economic optimism tempered by coronavirus concerns. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow that lead.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the glove makers, plantations and industrials, while the financials were mixed to higher.
For the day, the index shed 7.69 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 1,512.89 after trading between 1,509.25 and 1,525.42. Volume was 4.285 billion shares worth 2.350 billion ringgit. There were 743 decliners and 246 gainers.
Among the actives, Axiata retreated 1.06 percent, while CIMB Group rose 0.45 percent, Dialog Group slipped 0.35 percent. Digi.com skidded 1.18 percent, Genting fell 0.62 percent, Genting Malaysia shed 0.71 percent, Hartalega Holdings plummeted 3.52 percent, IHH Healthcare gained 0.53 percent, IOI Corporation slid 0.54 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong surrendered 1.01 percent, Maybank dropped 0.86 percent, Maxis lost 0.68 percent, MISC climbed 0.74 percent, MRDIY tanked 2.19 percent, Petronas Chemicals was down 0.25 percent, PPB Group weakened 0.87 percent, Press Metal tumbled 1.43 percent, Public Bank collected 0.49 percent, RHB Capital added 0.57 percent, Sime Darby sank 0.91 percent, Sime Darby Plantations declined 1.04 percent, Tenaga Nasional eased 0.10 percent, Top Glove plunged 2.88 percent and Telekom Malaysia was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as stocks shook off a mixed start on Monday and wound up with modest gains to fresh record closing highs.
The Dow climbed 126.02 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 34,996.18, while the NASDAQ added 31.32 points or 0.21 percent to end at 14,733.24 and the S&P 500 rose 15.08 points or 0.35 percent to close at 4,384.63.
The modestly higher close on Wall Street reflected recent upward momentum, which has helped propel stocks to record highs despite uncertainty about the global economic outlook.
Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the start of earnings season, with several big-name companies due to report their quarterly results this week.
Crude oil futures closed lower Monday after two days of gains amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to the surge in the delta variant of the coronavirus. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended down $0.46 or 0.6 percent at $74.10 a barrel.
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