Malaysia Stock Market May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, collecting more than a dozen points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,610-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside as investors figure to wait and see is the U.S. government can avert a shutdown. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished barely higher on Tuesday following gains from the telecoms, weakness from the financials and a mixed performance from the plantation stocks.

For the day, the index perked 0.93 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 1,611.88 after trading between 1,608.69 and 1,619.11. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail and Axiata both increased 0.37 percent, while AMMB Holdings and Gamuda both gained 0.18 percent, CIMB Group fell 0.41 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 0.68 percent, Maxis stumbled 1.36 percent, MRDIY tanked 1.80 percent, Nestle Malaysia slumped 0.91 percent, Petronas Chemicals plunged 2.76 percent, Petronas Dagangan strengthened 1.59 percent, Petronas Gas lost 0.43 percent, PPB Group soared 2.00 percent, Public Bank sank 0.46 percent, QL Resources dropped 0.69 percent, RHB Bank shed 0.45 percent, Sime Darby jumped 1.79 percent, SD Guthrie dipped 0.38 percent, Sunway rallied 1.99 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 0.57 percent, Tenaga Nasional improved 0.61 percent, YTL Corporation surged 2.59 percent, YTL Power climbed 0.72 percent and IHH Healthcare, IOI Corporation, Maybank, MISC, Celcomdigi and Press Metal were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages spent all of Tuesday under water until the very end, when they crept up into positive territory.

The Dow climbed 81.82 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 46,397.89, while the NASDAQ added 68.86 points or 0.30 percent to end at 22,660.01 and the S&P 500 gained 27.25 points or 0.41 percent to close at 6,688.46.

The choppy trading for much of the day came as traders kept an eye on Washington, where lawmakers are struggling to reach an agreement to avert a government shutdown.

The late-day strength on Wall Street reflected hopes lawmakers will reach a last-minute agreement, as they often do, or optimism that a government shutdown will not have a major impact on the economy.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a Conference Board report showing a bigger than expected decrease by its reading on U.S. consumer confidence in the month of September.

Crude oil declined sharply on Tuesday, extending recent losses as excess supply concerns continue to linger due to the anticipated production increase by OPEC. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was down $1.08 or 1.70 percent at $62.37 per barrel.