Malaysia Bourse: Support Seen At 1,700 Points

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in five straight sessions, slumping almost 60 points or 3.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,700-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed, with geopolitical concerns expected to war with bargain hunting. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the plantations and mixed performances from the financials, telecoms and industrials.

For the day, the index sank 16.40 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 1,700.21 after trading between 1,684.28 and 1,703.90. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail added 0.29 percent, while AMMB Holdings eased 0.31 percent, Axiata was down 0.44 percent, Celcomdigi shed 0.94 percent, CIMB Group sank 1.24 percent, Gamuda and PPB Group both declined 2.39 percent, IHH Healthcare skidded 1.86 percent, IOI Corporation slipped 0.51 percent, Maxis lost 0.77 percent, Maybank contracted 2.01 percent, MISC rallied 1.24 percent, MRDIY plummeted 7.26 percent, Nestle Malaysia tanked 2.73 percent, Petronas Chemicals skyrocketed 13.00 percent, Petronas Dagangan jumped 1.27 percent, Petronas Gas rose 0.22 percent, Press Metal climbed 1.12 percent, Public Bank dropped 1.62 percent, QL Resources stumbled 2.70 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.71 percent, Sime Darby retreated 2.46 percent, SD Guthrie slumped 1.91 percent, Sunway plunged 2.90 percent, Telekom Malaysia gained 0.27 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.70 percent, YTL Corporation surrendered 2.72 percent, YTL Power tumbled 2.12 percent and Kuala Lumpur Kepong was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened lower on Monday but gradually came back and hugged the line for the rest of the day, ending mixed.

The Dow sank 73.14 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 48,904.78. while the NASDAQ gained 80.65 points or 0.36 percent to close at 22,748.86 and the S&P 500 rose 2.74 points or 0.04 percent to end at 6,881.62.

Early selling pressure was generated in reaction to the news that the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran over the weekend, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The subsequent turnaround came as traders used the initial sell-off as an opportunity to pick up stocks at reduced levels after the Dow hit its lowest intraday level in two months.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing a slight slowdown in the pace of growth in U.S. manufacturing activity in the month of February.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Monday amid concerns about supply disruptions due to the conflict in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery surged $4.08 or 6.1 percent to $71.10 a barrel.