Malaysia Shares Called Rangebound Again On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday ended the three-day losing streak in which it had fallen more than 15 points or 1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,525-point plateau and it's likely to remain in that neighborhood again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets offers little guidance, with support from oil and technology stocks likely to be offset by weakness from the property and transportation companies. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished barely higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms. For the day, the index perked 0.68 points or 0.04 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,524.50 after trading as low as 1,516.96. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail lost 0.44 percent, while AMMB Holdings declined 1.35 percent, Axiata tumbled 1.49 percent, Celcomdigi rallied 1.06 percent, CIMB Group retreated 1.36 percent, Gamuda slumped 0.95 percent, IHH Healthcare rose 0.45 percent, IOI Corporation improved 0.27 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong climbed 0.92 percent, Maxis advanced 087 percent, Maybank dropped 0.74 percent, MISC skidded 1.06 percent, Nestle Malaysia shed 0.46 percent, Petronas Chemicals surged 7.39 percent, Petronas Gas added 0.67 percent, PPB Group gained 0.65 percent, Public Bank soared 1.90 percent, QL Resources perked 0.23 percent, RHB Bank eased 0.16 percent, Sime Darby spiked 1.22 percent, SD Guthrie slipped 0.21 percent, Sunway stumbled 1.64 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.30 percent, YTL Corporation gathered 0.40 percent, YTL Power sank 0.49 percent and Petronas Dagangan, Telekom Malaysia, Press Metal and MRDIY were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday and hugged the line until the FOMC statement, ending mixed and little changed.

The Dow dropped 171.71 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 44,461.28, while the NASDAQ rose 31.38 points or 0.15 percent to close at 21,129.67 and the S&P 500 fell 7.96 points or 0.12 percent to end at 6,362.90.

The mixed closed by the major averages came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged in a divided vote.

The decision to leave rates unchanged was not unanimous as Fed Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller preferred to lower rates by a quarter percentage point.

In economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. increased more than expected in July. Also, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy rebounded by more than expected in the second quarter of 2025.

Crude oil inched higher on Wednesday on hopes the U.S. can avoid a trade war, while the grace period was cut for Russia to avoid sanctions on its energy trades from 50 to 10 days. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery rose $0.82 or 1.18 percent at $70.02 per barrel.