Malaysia Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 20 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just shy of the 1,550-point plateau, although it may run out of steam on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were own and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

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

For the day, the index rose 3.97 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 1,547.99 after trading between 1,540.77 and 1,550.99.

Among the actives, Axiata rose 0.38 percent, while Celcomdigi and AMMB Holdings both added 0.71 percent, Genting sank 0.42 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 0.97 percent, Maxis strengthened 1.17 percent, Maybank collected 0.21 percent, MISC rallied 0.91 percent, MRDIY jumped 1.34 percent, Petronas Chemicals eased 0.15 percent, Petronas Gas plunged 2.30 percent, Press Metal slid 0.21 percent, Public Bank fell 0.24 percent, QL Resources climbed 1.02 percent, RHB Capital and Tenaga Nasional both gained 0.53 percent, Sime Darby surged 3.47 percent, Sime Darby Plantations slumped 0.46 percent, Telekom Malaysia soared 1.84 percent, YTL Corporation tumbled 1.50 percent, YTL Power spiked 1.53 percent and CIMB Group, Genting Malaysia, IHH Healthcare, IOI Corporation and PPB Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow plunged 396.61 points or 1.00 percent to finish at 39,170.24, while the NASDAQ tumbled 156.38 points or 0.95 percent to close at 16,240.45 and the S&P 500 sank 37.96 points or 0.72 percent to end at 5,205.81.

The sell-off on Wall Street reflected renewed uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates as traders digested recent U.S. inflation and manufacturing data, which has raised questions about whether the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in June.

Treasury yields moved sharply higher in reaction to the data and saw further upside during Tuesday's session, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note reaching a four-month high.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department reported a significant rebound in factory orders in February.

Oil prices hit a five-month high on Tuesday amid rising demand following solid manufacturing activity data from the U.S. and China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $1.44 or 1.72 percent at $85.15 a barrel, the highest settlement since last October.