Malaysia Stock Market May Be Stuck In Neutral On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had slipped almost 6 points or 0.4 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,455-point plateau and it's likely to remain rangebound again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat following the release of U.S. inflation data that offered little clarity for interest rates. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished barely higher on Wednesday as gains from the plantations, losses from the financials and a mixed picture from the telecoms.

For the day, the index perked 0.15 points or 0.01 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,453.54 after moving as low as 1,444.81.

Among the actives, Celcomdigi improved 0.90 percent, while Dialog Group soared 2.83 percent, Genting slumped 0.70 percent, Genting Malaysia stumbled 0.79 percent, IHH Healthcare dropped 0.34 percent, IOI Corporation jumped 1.24 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rose 0.19 percent, Maxis advanced 0.97 percent, Maybank fell 0.22 percent, MISC spiked 1.83 percent, MRDIY plunged 2.63 percent, Petronas Chemicals surged 3.14 percent, PPB Group added 0.63 percent, Press Metal gained 0.41 percent, Public Bank sank 0.24 percent, RHB Capital skidded 0.53 percent, Sime Darby Plantations rallied 1.16 percent, Telekom Malaysia eased 0.20 percent, Tenaga Nasional climbed 1.12 percent, Westports Holdings tumbled 2.12 percent and Petronas Dagangan, Sime Darby, CIMB Group, Axiata and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, quickly plummeted and then recovered to finish mixed and little changed.

The Dow sank 70.46 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 34,575.53, while the NASDAQ added 39.97 points or 0.29 percent to close at 13,813.58 and the S&P 500 rose 5.54 points or 0.12 percent to end at 4,467.44.

The choppy trading on Wall Street followed the release of the Labor Department's report on consumer price inflation in August. The report said the consumer price index climbed by 0.6 percent in August after inching up by 0.2 percent in July.

While the data reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged next week, many economists feel the bigger than expected monthly increase in core prices leaves the door open for another rate hike before the end of the year.

Following the report, CME Group's FedWatch Tool indicates a 97.0 percent chance the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged next week. The outlook for November remains more mixed, however, with the FedWatch Tool indicating a 58.0 percent chance rates will remain unchanged and a 40.8 percent chance of another quarter-point rate hike.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Wednesday on worries about demand after data showed an unexpected jump in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October fell $0.32 or 0.4 percent at $88.52 a barrel.