Malaysia Shares Due For Profit Taking

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 20 points or 1.3 percent along the way. Ther Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,555-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on continued profit taking and pessimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, telecoms and plantations.

For the day, the index climbed 16.98 points or 1.10 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,555.59 after moving as low as 1,537.94.

Among the actives, Axiata soared 3.58 percent, while Celcomdigi added 0.92 percent, CIMB Group picked up 0.78 percent, Genting and Hong Leong Financial both rose 0.61 percent, Genting Malaysia advanced 1.05 percent, IOI Corporation improved 1.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong perked 0.36 percent, Maxis jumped 1.85 percent, Maybank and RHB Capital both gathered 0.53 percent, MISC sank 0.65 percent, MRDIY gained 0.65 percent, Petronas Chemicals surged 3.65 percent, PPB Group rallied 2.38 percent, Press Metal strengthened 1.51 percent, Public Bank increased 1.13 percent, QL Resources was up 0.85 percent, Sime Darby skyrocketed 4.78 percent, Telekom Malaysia collected 0.51 percent, Tenaga Nasional climbed 1.43 percent, YTL Corporation spiked 2.74 percent, YTL Power accelerated 3.16 percent and IHH Healthcare and Sime Darby Plantations were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and largely remained that way, finishing solidly in the red.

The Dow dropped 64.19 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 38,563.80, while the NASDAQ tumbled 144.87 points or 0.92 percent to end at 15,630.78 and the S&P 500 sank 30.06 points or 0.60 percent to close at 4,975.51.

The weakness on Wall Street partly reflected ongoing anxiety about the outlook for interest rates following last week's hotter-than-expectation inflation data.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool is indicating just an 8.5 percent chance the Federal Reserve will lower rates by a quarter point in March, while the chances of a quarter point rate cut in early May have fallen to 33.8 percent.

Meanwhile, a strong gain by Walmart (WMT) helped limit the downside for the Dow, with the retail giant surging by 3.2 percent after reporting fourth quarter results that exceeded estimates and announcing a deal to acquire TV maker Vizio (VZIO) for $2.3 billion.

Crude oil prices moved sharply lower on Tuesday, reflecting ongoing concerns about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate for March delivery slumped $1.01 to $78.18 a barrel, while the more actively traded crude for April delivery tumbled $1.42 to $77.04 a barrel.