The Malaysia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the three-day losing streak in which it had stumbled more than 20 points or 1.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,490-point plateau although it's likely to bounce higher again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian is cautiously optimistic, although weakness from the technology and oil stocks may limit the upside. The European and U.S. markets were mostly higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The KLCI finished slightly lower on Friday as losses from the financial shares and glove makers were mitigated by support from the plantations.
For the day, the index slipped 5.98 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 1,489.80 after trading between 1,486.05 and 1,498.59. Volume was 4.288 billion shares worth 2.530 billion ringgit. There were 496 gainers and 495 decliners.
Among the actives, Axiata added 0.53 percent, while Dialog Group tanked 1.53 percent, Digi.com skidded 1.40 percent, Genting gathered 0.22 percent, Genting Malaysia climbed 1.12 percent, Hartalega Holdings plunged 2.07 percent, IHH Healthcare gained 0.35 percent, IOI Corporation rose 0.27 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong was up 0.21 percent, Maybank sank 0.75 percent, Maxis retreated 1.14 percent, MISC tumbled 1.50 percent, MRDIY surged 3.85 percent, Petronas Chemicals eased 0.13 percent, PPB Group and Hong Leong Bank both shed 0.22 percent, Press Metal perked 0.83 percent, Public Bank dropped 0.51 percent, RHB Capital fell 0.19 percent, Sime Darby advanced 0.94 percent, Sime Darby Plantations jumped 1.74 percent, Tenaga Nasional declined 1.13 percent, Top Glove plummeted 2.39 percent and CIMB Group and Telekom Malaysia were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the Dow and S&P opened higher on Friday and finished at record closing highs - while the NASDAQ opened in the red and the finished under water.
The Dow added 144.26 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 35,208.51, while the NASDAQ lost 59.36 points or 0.40 percent to close at 14,835.76 and the S&P 500 rose 7.42 points or 0.17 percent to end at 4,436.52.
The mixed performance on Wall Street came as better than expected jobs data added to economic optimism but also raised concerns about the outlook for monetary policy. The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment spiked by 943,000 jobs in July after surging by an upwardly revised 938,000 jobs in June.
Last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated further progress was needed in labor market recovery before the central would consider scaling back stimulus.
The price of crude oil moved lower again on Friday as concerns about the outlook for global demand amid a surge in coronavirus infections overshadowed upbeat U.S. jobs data. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for September delivery slid $0.81 or 1.2 percent to $68.28 a barrel, plunging 7.7 percent for the week.
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