Malaysia Bourse Expected To Be Rangebound On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 30 points or 2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,465-point plateau although it may tick higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on continuing 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 slightly lower on Tuesday following losses from the plantations and mixed performances from the financial shares and telecoms.

For the day, the index dipped 1.30 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 1,463.37 after trading between 1,458.66 and 1,465.55.

Among the actives, Axiata and Press Metal both gained 0.41 percent, while Celcomdigi tumbled 1.37 percent, Dialog Group shed 0.47 percent, Genting advanced 0.71 percent, Genting Malaysia lost 0.40 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.67 percent, IOI Corporation stumbled 1.00 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong fell 0.27 percent, Maxis and Public Bank both slid 0.24 percent, Maybank collected 0.44 percent, MISC rose 0.27 percent, MRDIY spiked 3.27 percent, Petronas Chemicals slumped 0.82 percent, PPB Group declined 1.05 percent, RHB Capital was up 0.18 percent, Sime Darby plunged 2.10 percent, Sime Darby Plantations retreated 1.13 percent, Telekom Malaysia rallied 2.51 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.50 percent, Westports Holdings dropped 0.60 percent and CIMB Group and Petronas Gas were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mildly positive as the major averages shook off early weakness to quickly move higher and finish with modest gains.

The Dow added 56.74 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 34,152.74, while the NASDAQ jumped 121.08 points or 0.90 percent to end at 13,639.86 and the S&P 500 rose 12.40 points or 0.28 percent to close at 4,378.38.

Profit taking contributed to the initial weakness on Wall Street as traders looked to cash in on the recent strength in the markets. But selling pressure waned shortly after the start of trading, with continued optimism about the outlook for interest rates contributing to the rebound.

The rebound by stocks also came as treasury yields showed a notable move back to the downside after surging in the previous session.

Traders also looked ahead to speeches by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later today and Thursday. Powell is due to deliver opening remarks at the Division of Research and Statistics Centennial Conference and participate in a policy panel discussions.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Tuesday as concerns about the outlook for fuel demand offset recent decisions by Russia and Saudi Arabia to extend production cuts to the end of the year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December sank $3.45 or 4.3 percent at $77.37 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will see unemployment data for September later today; in August, the jobless rate was 3.4 percent.