Little Movement Seen For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one session after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had added almost 10 points or 0.6 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,500-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with earnings news likely to guide investors. The European and U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets are expected to follow suit.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the telecoms and mixed performances from the financial shares and plantations.

For the day, the index picked up 5.82 points or 0.39 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,499.38 after moving as low as 1,488.95.

Among the actives, Axiata soared 3.04 percent, while CIMB Group was up 0.17 percent, Dialog Group spiked 1.98 percent, Digi.com surged 3.13 percent, Genting Malaysia dropped 0.71 percent, IHH Healthcare rose 0.34 percent, IOI Corporation sank 0.76 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong perked 0.18 percent, Maxis advanced 0.52 percent, MRDIY added 0.51 percent, Petronas Chemicals rallied 1.41 percent, Petronas Dagangan shed 0.80 percent, Press Metal jumped 1.92 percent, RHB Capital lost 0.69 percent, Sime Darby Plantations gained 0.46 percent, Telekom Malaysia climbed 0.58 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.32 percent and Genting, PPB Group, Sime Darby, Public Bank, Maybank, INARI and MISC were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday, saw a mild recovery but only the NASDAQ managed to end in the green.

The Dow tumbled 391.76 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 33,910.85, while the NASDAQ rose 15.96 points or 0.14 percent to end at 11,095.11 and the S&P 500 dipped 8.12 points or 0.20 percent to close at 3,990.97.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent strength.

A steep drop by Goldman Sachs (GS) weighed on the Dow after the company reported earnings that missed estimates. Travelers (TRV) also missed, while Morgan Stanley (MS) beat the street.

In economic news, the New York Federal Reserve noted a significant contraction in regional manufacturing activity in January.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Tuesday on expectations of a jump in demand following better than expected Chinese GDP data. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended higher by $0.32 or 0.4 percent at $80.18 a barrel, the highest settlement since December 30.

Closer to home, Malaysia will release December data for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to rise 15.9 percent on year, up from 15.6 percent in November. Exports are called higher by an annual 9.0 percent, slowing from 15.6 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at MYR26.0 billion, up from MYR22.3 billion a month earlier.