Malaysia Stock Market May Extend Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has ticked lower in three straight sessions, slipping almost 10 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,610-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with weakness expected from the computer, semiconductor and housing sectors. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

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

For the day, the index dipped 2.46 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 1,608.97 after trading between 1,607.88 and 1,615.93.

Among the actives, Axiata rose 0.42 percent, while Celcomdigi slid 0.27 percent, CIMB Group skidded 0.86 percent, Genting slumped 0.82 percent, Genting Malaysia shed 0.47 percent, IHH Healthcare was up 0.27 percent, IOI Corporation eased 0.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rallied 0.75 percent, Maxis fell 0.29 percent, MISC gained 0.54 percent, MRDIY retreated 1.61 percent, Nestle Malaysia advanced 0.62 percent, Petronas Chemicals surged 5.82 percent, PPB Group gathered 0.31 percent, Press Metal added 0.61 percent, Public Bank lost 0.44 percent, QL Resources tumbled 1.63 percent, RHB Bank and Telekom Malaysia both collected 0.30 percent, SD Guthrie dropped 0.79 percent, Sunway sank 0.62 percent, Tenaga Nasional declined 1.01 percent, YTL Power jumped 0.82 percent and Maybank, Sime Darby and YTL Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened flat on Tuesday and hugged the line for most of the session before sinking firmly into the red late in the day.

The Dow dropped 154.10 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 44,247.83, while the NASDAQ sank 49.45 points or 0.25 percent to close at 19,687.24 and the S&P 500 fell 17.94 points or 0.30 percent to end at 6,034.91.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as traders continued to cash in on recent strength in the markets ahead of the release of the Labor Department's closely watched report on consumer price inflation later today.

While the Federal Reserve is widely expected to lower rates by another 25 basis points next week, the data could impact the outlook for future rate cuts by the central bank.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 86.1 percent chance the Fed will lower rates by a quarter point next week but a 69.1 percent chance the central bank will then leave rates unchanged in late January.

Oil futures settled higher on Tuesday amid hopes that demand from China will increase following recent stimulus measures announced by the Chinese government. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January closed up $0.22 or 0.32 percent at $68.59 a barrel.