Malaysia Bourse Likely To Remain Rangebound

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had gained almost 15 points or 1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,515-point plateau and it's expected to remain in that neighborhood again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is hopeful on continuing trade talks between the United States and China. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Tuesday following weakness from the industrials and mixed performances from the financial shares, telecoms and plantations.

For the day, the index dipped 2.46 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 1,516.95 after trading between 1,516.23 and 1,522.43.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail surged 4.29 percent, while Axiata spiked 2.46 percent, Celcomdigi retreated 1.31 percent, CIMB Group sank 0.58 percent, IHH Healthcare eased 0.14 percent, IOI Corporation tumbled 1.64 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rose 0.20 percent, Maybank slid 0.21 percent, MISC and Hong Leong Bank both skidded 0.91 percent, MRDIY soared 2.48 percent, Nestle Malaysia slumped 0.98 percent, Petronas Chemicals dropped 0.60 percent, Petronas Dagangan shed 0.48 percent, Petronas Gas was down 0.22 percent, PPB Group advanced 0.73 percent, QL Resources added 0.44 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.31 percent, SD Guthrie stumbled 1.74 percent, Sunway lost 0.41 percent, Telekom Malaysia rallied 1.22 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.28 percent, YTL Power gained 0.29 percent and Press Metal, Public Bank, Sime Darby, Maxis, Gamuda and YTL Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened mixed but generally tracked higher throughout the day to end with modest gains.

The Dow climbed 105.11 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 42,866.87, while the NASDAQ gained 123.75 points or 0.63 percent to close at 19,714.99 and the S&P 500 added 32.93 points or 0.55 percent to end at 6,038.81.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came amid optimism as traders awaited the outcome of the ongoing trade talks between China and the U.S. in London.

Trade negotiations between the world's two largest economies commenced on Monday - and while U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters the talks are "going well," there has been no breakthrough as of yet.

In economic news, the National Federation of Independent Business said the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index in the US increased to 98.8 in May 2025, the highest in three months, compared to 95.8 in April. The reading was expected to come in with a score of 95.9.

Crude oil prices were down on Tuesday amidst uncertainty over trade talks between China and the United States continued, although the outcome remains uncertain. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July delivery closed down by $0.31 to settle at $64.98 per barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will provide April numbers for industrial production and unemployment later today; in March, the jobless rate was 3.1 percent and production was up 3.2 percent on year.