ZLBT Morning Views

Soft Start Expected For Malaysian Stocks

Ahead of Tuesday's holiday for Vesak Day, the Malaysian stock market had finished lower in two of three sessions since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 20 points or 1.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index finished just above the 1,535-point plateau, and now analysts are expecting to see the market make up for missing some negative sentiment when it kicks off trade on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets calls for mild consolidation on lingering debt concerns in Europe. Properties and technology stocks figure to see continued pressure, with gold and financial shares rising on bargain hunting. The European and U.S. markets finished lower on Tuesday, and the Asian bourses are also expected to track to the downside.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Monday following mild losses among the financial shares, industrial issues and plantation stocks.
For the day, the index eased 4.47 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 1,536.27 after trading between 1,536.27 and 1,545.34. Volume was 811.79 million shares worth 1.23 billion ringgit. There were 502 decliners and 274 gainers, with 286 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Axiata and Maxis finished lower, while Petronas Chemical and Sime Darby were unchanged and Maybank and CIMB Group ended higher.

WALL STREET :  DJIA falls below 12500 with 3rd session loss

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA – 12,479.58) trimmed its triple-digit deficit in afternoon trading, but still ended on a loss of 68.8 points, or 0.6%, to settle south of 12,500 for the first time since April 25. Hewlett-Packard -- unsurprisingly -- led the 14 laggards with a 7.3% drop, while JPMorgan Chase (JPM) paced the 16 advancing equities with a gain of nearly 2.2%.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX – 1,328.98) also chipped away at its intraday deficit in late-session trading, giving up just 0.5 point, or 0.04%, by the close. Helping the broad-market barometer climb out of the doldrums was its 10-week moving average, which hasn't been compromised on a weekly closing basis since mid-March. Finally, the Nasdaq Composite (COMP – 2,783.21) bucked the trend, clawing its way to a fractional gain of 0.9 point, or 0.03%, in the final hour of trading. Nevertheless, the tech-rich COMP is still in danger of ending the week south of its 10-week trendline for the first time since late March.

HAPPY TRADING