(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Monday wrote a finish to the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost a dozen points or 0.8 percent. The Kuala Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,585-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with technology stocks expected to lead the markets lower - although crude oil prices offer mild support. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were negative and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The KLCI finished slightly lower on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks and glove makers.
For the day, the index fell 3.53 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 1,583.92 after trading between 1,580.00 and 1,591.52. Volume was 5.977 billion shares worth 3.534 billion ringgit. There were 844 decliners and 297 gainers.
Among the actives, Axiata sank 0.54 percent, while CIMB Group skidded 0.72 percent, Dialog Group tumbled 0.99 percent, Genting surrendered 1.01 percent, Genting Malaysia tanked 1.39 percent, Hartalega Holdings added 0.21 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.09 percent, Maxis jumped 1.55 percent, MISC spiked 1.93 percent, Petronas Chemicals retreated 0.60 percent, PPB Group rose 0.11 percent, RHB Capital declined 0.58 percent, Sime Darby dropped 0.44 percent, Sime Darby Plantations rallied 1.27 percent, Supermax plummeted 6.65 percent, Telekom Malaysia lost 0.17 percent, Top Glove plunged 1.90 percent and Public Bank, Maybank, IHH Healthcare, IOI Corporation, Press Metal, Tenaga Nasional, Digi.com and Hap Seng Consolidated were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened mixed on Monday but all ended up in the red as the session progressed.
The Dow fell 34.94 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 34,742.82, while the NASDAQ plummeted 350.38 points or 2.55 percent to end at 13,401.86 and the S&P 500 sank 44.17 points or 1.04 percent to close at 4,188.43.
The steep drop by the NASDAQ came amid weakness among technology stocks following negative analyst comments about several big-name companies including Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), Facebook (FB) and Oracle (ORCL).
Concerns about the outlook for inflation may also have weighed on the markets amid an increase in commodities prices.
Crude oil futures were marginally higher Monday on news of the shutdown of critical fuel supply pipelines in the U.S. following a major cyberattack. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended up $0.02 or 0.02 percent at $64.92 a barrel.
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