Losing Streak Expected To Continue For Malaysia Shares

The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, slumping almost 50 points or 3.2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,415-point plateau and it's expected to open in the red again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets continues to be soft on concerns about interest rates and the global economy. The European and U.S. markets were down again and the Asian markets, despite being badly oversold at this point, are expected to at least open in the red.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and telecoms, while the plantations and glove makers were mixed.

For the day, the index dropped 11.94 points or 0.84 percent to finish at 1,413.04 after trading between 1,411.48 and 1,423.83. Volume was 2.121 billion shares worth 1.849 billion ringgit. There were 780 decliners and 164 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata fell 0.37 percent, while CIMB Group declined 1.67 percent, Digi.com sank 0.89 percent, Genting dropped 1.14 percent, Genting Malaysia slumped 1.42 percent, Hartalega Holdings surged 2.61 percent, IHH Healthcare soared 2.59 percent, INARI shed 0.75 percent, IOI Corporation tumbled 1.84 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong plummeted 5.36 percent, Maybank skidded 1.15 percent, Maxis plunged 2.50 percent, MISC eased 0.14 percent, MRDIY retreated 1.52 percent, Petronas Chemicals dipped 0.36 percent, PPB Group jumped 1.27 percent, Press Metal lost 0.50 percent, Public Bank stumbled 1.38 percent, RHB Capital weakened 1.23 percent, Sime Darby added 0.46 percent, Sime Darby Plantations rose 0.23 percent, Telekom Malaysia surrendered 1.75 percent, Top Glove tanked 2.31 percent and Dialog Group, Tenaga Nasional and Hong Leong Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street continues to be negative as the major averages were unable to hold early support on Monday, accelerating to the downside as the day progressed.

The Dow tumbled 329.60 points or 1.11 percent to finish at 29.260.81, while the NASDAQ dropped 65.00 points or 0.60 percent to close at 10.802.92 and the S&P 500 fell 38.19 points or 1.03 percent to end at 3,655.04.

A continued surge in the value of the U.S. dollar contributed to the weakness on Wall Street, with the greenback hitting a record high versus the British pound.

Concerns about the outlook for the global economy also continued to weigh on the markets amid worries the increases in interest rates around the world will lead to a recession. The Fed and other central banks have indicated they plan to continue raising rates in an effort to combat stubbornly elevated inflation.

The extended weakness on Wall Street also came amid a spike in treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note soaring to a 12-year high.

Crude oil prices tumbled to near nine-month lows on Monday, extending losses from the previous session amid rising concerns about the outlook for fuel demand due to increasing possibility of a global recession. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended lower by $2.03 or 2.6 percent at $76.71 a barrel.

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