The Malaysia stock market has inched higher in consecutive trading days, although it has collected just a pair of points in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index remains just above the 1,845-point plateau, although the rally is expected to stall on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative thanks to ongoing fears of a trade war, the outlook for interest rates and a drop in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourse figure to follow suit.
The KLCI finished barely higher on Monday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the plantations and telecoms.
For the day, the index added 1.55 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 1,847.94 after trading between 1,845.45 and 1,850.16. Volume was 1.9 billion shares worth 1.7 billion ringgit. There were 574 decliners and 332 gainers.
Among the actives, Astro Malaysia Holdings tumbled 1.71 percent, while Sime Darby skidded 1.48 percent, Digi.com spiked 1.32 percent, IHH Healthcare dropped 0.66 percent, IOI Corporation jumped 0.66 percent, Axiata Group climbed 0.56 percent, CIMB Group collected 0.55 percent, Public Bank and Hong Leong Bank both added 0.43 percent, Telekom Malaysia shed 0.36 percent, Tenaga Nasional gained 0.13 percent and YTL Corporation, Maybank, PPB Group and Petronas Chemicals all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as stocks moved sharply lower on Monday, extending last week's losses.
The Dow shed 335.60 points or 1.35 percent to 24,610.91, while the NASDAQ lost 137.74 points or 1.84 percent to 7,344.24 and the S&P fell 39.09 points or 1.42 percent to 2,712.92.
The sell-off reflected lingering concerns about a potential trade war as well as political uncertainty following recent developments in Washington. Traders are also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.
With the Fed widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, traders will keep an eye on the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for future rate hikes. New Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's first press conference as head of the central bank is also likely to attract considerable attention.
A steep drop by social media giant Facebook (FB) was a heavy drag on the technology sector, while telecoms, energy, computer hardware and steel stocks also fell under pressure.
Crude oil futures fell along with U.S. stocks Monday as traders fretted over a litany of defections and firings from the Trump Administration. WTI light sweet oil was down 28 cents or 0.5 percent to settle at $62.06/bbl.
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