Malaysia Shares May See Mild Support On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, sinking more than 25 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,540-point plateau and it's likely to remain in that neighborhood again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement, with bargain hunting pitted against interest rate concerns. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares and telecoms, while the plantations were mixed.

For the day, the index shed 7.53 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 1,535.00 after trading between 1,532.49 and 1,541.59.

Among the actives, YTL Corporation plummeted 4.62 percent, while Celcomdigi surged 2.94 percent, YTL Power plunged 2.30 percent, Press Metal jumped 1.92 percent, AMMB Holdings tanked 1.91 percent, Sime Darby tumbled 1.81 percent, CIMB Group retreated 1.52 percent, IHH Health Care climbed 1.16 percent, QL Resources declined 1.13 percent, Tenaga Nasional slumped 1.03 percent, Genting stumbled 0.88 percent, Hong Leong Financial skidded 0.84 percent, Hong Leong Bank dropped 0.82 percent, Genting Malaysia sank 0.76 percent, Maybank shed 0.73 percent, RHB Bank lost 0.70 percent, Mr. DYI advanced 0.68 percent, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.66 percent, Nestle Malaysia added 0.66 percent, IOI Corporation and Public Bank both slid 0.49 percent, Axiata dipped 0.40 percent, MISC gained 0.39 percent, Maxis rose 0.29 percent, Sime Darby Plantation perked 0.23 percent, Petronas Gas was up 0.22 percent, PPB Group eased 0.13 percent and Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Petronas Chemicals were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and, after some volatility, ended on opposite sides of the line and little changed.

The Dow added 63.86 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 37,798.97, while the NASDAQ shed 19.77 points or 0.12 percent to close at 15,865.25 and the S&P 500 sank 10.41 points or 0.21 percent to end at 5,051.41.

The lack of direction shown by the markets came as traders weighed the idea of picking up stocks at relatively reduced levels against concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The yield on the benchmark ten-year note reached its highest intraday levels in almost six months after the Federal Reserve released a report showing a continued increase in U.S. industrial production in the month of March.

Adding to the rate worries, Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated in remarks that rates are likely to remain higher for longer amid a "lack of progress" toward reaching the central bank's inflation goal.

Crude oil showed a lack of direction on Tuesday before easing slightly as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated the U.S. plans to impose new sanctions on Iran in response to the country's attack on Israel. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery dipped $0.05 or 0.1 percent to $85.36 a barrel.