Malaysia Bourse May Extend Losing Streak

The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, tumbling more than 40 points or 2.5 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,600-point plateau and it may take further damage on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with several regional bourses ripe for profit taking, while an uptick in coronavirus cases may fuel the weak sentiment. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the glove makers and financial shares, although the plantations offered mild support.

For the day, the index dropped 24.64 points or 1.51 percent to finish at 1,602.57 after trading between 1,593.12 and 1,629.17. Volume was 7.400 billion shares worth 5.876 billion ringgit. There were 934 decliners and 360 gainers.

Among the actives, Hartalega Holdings cratered 13.67 percent, while Top Glove plummeted 10.13 percent, Supermax plunged 8.32 percent, Petronas Chemicals tanked 2.96 percent, MISC tumbled 2.18 percent, IOI Corporation soared 1.37 percent, Maybank skidded 1.30 percent, Axiata retreated 1.07 percent, RHB Capital jumped 0.92 percent, Genting Malaysia declined 0.74 percent, Dialog Group climbed 0.58 percent, Digi.com advanced 0.48 percent, CIMB Group sank 0.47 percent, Genting added 0.45 percent, Sime Darby dropped 0.43 percent, Maxis gained 0.40 percent, Public Bank shed 0.39 percent, Tenaga Nasional rose 0.38 percent, IHH Healthcare improved 0.36 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong perked 0.25 percent, Press Metal gathered 0.24 percent, Telekom Malaysia was up 0.18 percent and Petronas Dagangan, Sime Darby Plantations and PPB Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as stocks shook off a steady start on Monday and headed sharply lower as the day progressed, cutting into recent gains.

The Dow tumbled 382.59 points or 1.25 percent to finish at 30,223.89, while the NASDAQ dropped 189.83 points or 1.47 percent to end at 12,698.45 and the S&P 500 sank 55.42 points or 1.48 percent to close at 3,700.65.

Upward momentum to start the New Year contributed to the initial strength on Wall Street, although buying interest waned shortly after the open. The subsequent pullback partly reflected profit taking after the Dow and the S&P 500 reached new record intraday highs.

Traders also were reluctant to push stocks higher amid uncertainty ahead of two key Senate runoffs in Georgia later today. Their outcome will determine which party controls the Senate and could have a major impact on what President-elect Joe Biden is able to accomplish.

The sharp pullback reflected concerns about the recent spike in coronavirus cases in several parts of the world, with a new strain of the virus being detected in the U.S. for the first time. Other countries, including the United Kingdom and Japan, are taking strong lockdown measures.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department reported a continued increase in construction spending in November.

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