Malaysia Bourse May Find Traction On Thursday

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Wednesday's holiday for the Islamic New Year, the Malaysia stock market had moved lower in two straight sessions, slipping almost 10 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,405-point plateau although it figures to stop the bleeding on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic because of an improving outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Tuesday as losses from the financials were offset by gains from the plantation stocks.

For the day, the index dipped 3.07 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 1,403.03 after trading between 1,399.47 and 1,407.90.

Among the actives, Axiata and Genting Malaysia both gathered 0.40 percent, while CIMB Group retreated 1.32 percent, Genting increased 0.24 percent, IHH Healthcare and Sime Darby Plantations both added 0.69 percent, IOI Corporation advanced 0.78 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rose 0.44 percent, Maxis and PPB Group both lost 0.49 percent, Maybank fell 0.34 percent, MISC was up 0.14 percent, MRDIY gained 0.68 percent, Petronas Chemicals climbed 1.12 percent, Press Metal perked 0.62 percent, Public Bank sank 0.75 percent, RHB Capital stumbled 0.90 percent, Sime Darby tumbled 1.44 percent, Telekom Malaysia shed 0.62 percent, Tenaga Nasional slid 0.33 percent and Westports Holdings, Dialog Group and Celcomdigi were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened firmly higher on Wednesday but faded as the day progressed, finishing with only slight gains.

The Dow climbed 109.31 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 35,061.21, while the NASDAQ rose 4.42 points or 0.03 percent to close at 14,358.02 and the S&P 500 perked 10.74 points or 0.24 percent to end at 4,565.72.

The strength on Wall Street extended the current upward trend, with the Dow closing higher for the eighth consecutive session. Encouraging inflation data helped trigger the recent advance, as traders grow increasingly optimistic the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its interest rate hikes.

Upbeat earnings news has added to the positive sentiment, with regional banks U.S. Bancorp (USB), Ally Financial (ALLY) and Citizens Financial (CFG) posting standout gains after reporting better than expected quarterly earnings.

Meanwhile, traders shrugged off a Commerce Department report showing a sharp pullback in housing starts last month.

Oil futures pared early gains and settled lower on Wednesday after data showed a smaller-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, while a stronger dollar weighed as well. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August fell $0.40 or 0.5 percent at $75.35 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will release June figures for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to fall 16.8 percent on year after shedding 3.3 percent in May. Exports are seen lower by an annual 12.7 percent after easing 0.7 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at 21.30 billion ringgit, up from 15.40 billion ringgit a month earlier.