Malaysia Stock Market May End Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, slipping almost 6 points or 0.4 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just shy of the 1,450-point plateau although it may find traction on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished barely lower on Tuesday following losses from the financials, gains from the plantations and a mixed picture from the telecoms.

For the day, the index dipped 0.13 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 1,448.02 after trading between 1,444.60 and 1,452.60.

Among the actives, Axiata and Hong Leong Bank both shed 0.42 percent, while Celcomdigi rose 0.48 percent, CIMB Group retreated 1.22 percent, Dialog Group advanced 0.97 percent, Genting jumped 1.74 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.69 percent, IOI Corporation climbed 1.01 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gathered 0.47 percent, Maxis and Tenaga Nasional both gained 0.51 percent, Maybank eased 0.11 percent, MISC perked 0.14 percent, MRDIY tumbled 1.25 percent, Petronas Chemicals fell 0.14 percent, PPB Group slumped 0.85 percent, Press Metal lost 0.41 percent, Public Bank sank 0.47 percent, RHB Capital declined 1.08 percent, Sime Darby improved 0.84 percent, Sime Darby Plantations rallied 1.58 percent, Telekom Malaysia dropped 0.57 percent, Westports Holdings strengthened 1.45 percent and Genting Malaysia, AMMB Holdings and Hong Leong Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and spent much of the day bouncing back and forth across the line before ending modestly higher.

The Dow gained 83.51 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 35,416.98, while the NASDAQ added 40.73 points or 0.29 percent to close at 14,281.76 and the S&P 500 rose 4.46 points or 0.10 percent to end at 4,554.89.

The choppy performance on Wall Street was the result of conflicting commentary regarding interest rates from Federal Reserve governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman.

Speaking at an American Enterprise Institute event, Waller said he is "increasingly confident that policy is currently well positioned to slow the economy and get inflation back to 2 percent."

But then Bowman said during a Utah Bankers Association and Salt Lake Chamber breakfast that she continues to expect the Fed we will need to increase rates further to keep policy sufficiently restrictive to bring inflation down to 2 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Tuesday on hopes that OPEC will extend output cuts at Thursday's ministerial meeting. A weak dollar contributed as well to the jump in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended up $1.55 or 2.1 percent at $76.41 a barrel.