Renewed Support Anticipated For Malaysia Shares

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one day after ending the three-day losing streak in which it had fallen almost 10 points or 0.6 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,455-point plateau although it's likely to bounce higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index shed 7.51 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 1,455.89 after trading between 1,454.52 and 1,460.59.

Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 1.63 percent, while CIMB Group was down 0.35 percent, Dialog Group sank 0.94 percent, Genting surrendered 1.58 percent, Genting Malaysia slipped 0.39 percent, IHH Healthcare shed 0.68 percent, IOI Corporation skidded 1.00 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong slid 0.46 percent, Maxis slumped 1.22 percent, Maybank eased 0.11 percent, MISC stumbled 1.23 percent, MRDIY rallied 1.27 percent, Petronas Chemicals plunged 1.76 percent, PPB Group dropped 0.97 percent, Press Metal retreated 1.42 percent, RHB Capital fell 0.53 percent, Sime Darby added 0.42 percent, Sime Darby Plantations declined 1.35 percent, Telekom Malaysia dipped 0.40 percent, Tenaga Nasional lost 0.57 percent, Westports Holdings jumped 1.72 percent and Celcomdigi, Public Bank and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained in the green throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 184.74 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 35,273.03, while the NASDAQ gained 65.88 points or 0.46 percent to end at 14,265.86 and the S&P 500 rose 18.43 points or 0.41 percent to close at 4,556.62.

The strength on Wall Street came as continued optimism about the outlook for interest rates contributed to renewed buying interest following the previous day's pullback.

While the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting failed to provide any indications the central bank plans to cut interest rates in the near future, CME Group's FedWatch Tool suggests the next move will be a rate cut in mid-2024.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods pulled back by much more than expected in October.

Crude oil futures settled lower Wednesday after data showed a notable increase in crude inventory in the U.S., and after OPEC postponed a key meeting by four days. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended down $0.67 or 0.86 percent at $77.10 a barrel.