Bursa Malaysia Recap : Weak Start Expected For Malaysian Stocks

 

The Malaysian stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days, since the end of the two-day losing streak in which it had fallen just over 1 point. Coming down from a fresh record closing high, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index finished just below the 1,590-point plateau - and now traders are bracing for more pain at the opening of trade on Tuesday.

 

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains broadly negative thanks to concerns over the health of the U.S. economy and the threat of debt contagion in Europe. Financials figure to be hit hard, along with technology, steel and oil stocks. The European and U.S. markers finished sharply lower, and the Asian bourses also are expected to track significantly lower.

 

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Monday following softness from the financial shares, industrial issues and plantation stocks.

 

For the day, the index shed 6.16 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 1,588.58 after trading between 1,584.20 and 1,597.08. Volume was 712.48 million shares worth 1.293 billion ringgit. There were 460 decliners and 237 gainers, with 304 stocks finishing unchanged.

 

Among the actives, Maybank, CIMB Group and Petronas Chemical all finished lower, while Kuala Lumpur Kepong, YTL Cement and Petronas Dagangan ended higher.

 

In economic news, industrial production in Malaysia declined 5.1 percent from a year earlier in May after a downwardly revised 1.7 percent growth in April, the Department of Statistics said on Monday. Economists were expecting a 2.6 percent decline. On a monthly basis, total industrial output fell 1.3 percent. During the first five months of the year, output grew 0.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

 

Also, Malaysia's manufacturing sector sales value increased at a slower pace in May, the Department of Statistics said on Monday. The sales value advanced 8 percent year-on-year compared to a revised 15.2 percent rise in April. Meanwhile, it fell by 3.7 percent on month. The monthly decrease in the sales value in May was the result in the drop of the sales value of 50 of the 116 industries in the survey.