Additional Support Anticipated For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market ticked higher again on Tuesday, one day after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up just 4 points or 0.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,510-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside, supported by bargain hunting and crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were modestly higher and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index rose 1.64 point or 0.11 percent to finish at 1,512.98 after trading between 1,508.99 and 1,513.98.

Among the actives, Axiata rallied 0.74 percent, while Celcomdigi dropped 0.71 percent, CIMB Group dipped 0.32 percent, Dialog Group plummeted 2.26 percent, Genting gathered 0.20 percent, IHH Healthcare gained 0.49 percent, Inari Amertron surged 2.89 percent, IOI Corporation collected 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong shed 0.54 percent, Maybank eased 0.11 percent, MISC added 0.55 percent, MRDIY tumbled 2.10 percent, Petronas Chemicals and Sime Darby Plantations both jumped 0.90 percent, PPB Group advanced 0.68 percent, Press Metal sank 0.64 percent, Public Bank fell 0.45 percent, QL Resources lost 0.52 percent, RHB Capital slid 0.36 percent, Telekom Malaysia was down 0.17 percent, Tenaga Nasional rose 0.37 percent and Genting Malaysia, Maxis and Sime Darby were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened higher but also spent much of the day in the red before a late rally nudged them all back into positive territory.

The Dow climbed 141.24 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 38,521.36, while the NASDAQ rose 11.32 points or 0.07 percent to close at 15,609.00 and the S&P 500 added 11.42 points or 0.23 percent to end at 4,954.23.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as some traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves amid uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets after recent volatility.

While the major averages climbed well off Monday's early lows, fading optimism the Fed will lower interest rates in March continued to hang over the markets.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said the central bank is unlikely to cut rates in March and the chances of a rate cut next month have fallen to just 19.5 percent, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday, extending gains from the previous session after the Energy Information Administration's said oil inventories may drop by 0.8 million barrels per day in the current quarter. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $0.53 or 0.73 percent at $73.31 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will see December numbers for industrial production later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.9 percent on year following the 0.6 percent increase in November.