Little Movement Seen For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday ended the three-day slide in which it had slumped more than 20 points or 1.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just shy of the 1,585-point plateau and it's likely to remain in that neighborhood again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher amidst a lack of strong catalysts. The European and U.S. markets finished barely higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday as gains from the financials and plantations were capped by weakness from the industrials.

For the day, the index rose 2.08 points or 0.13 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,584.84 after moving as low as 1,575.68.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail spiked 1.45 percent, while Axiata slumped 1.43 percent, Celcomdigi stumbled 2.86 percent, CIMB Group rallied 1.20 percent, Gamuda lost 0.45 percent, IHH Healthcare gained 0.41 percent, IOI Corporation rose 0.27 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Press Metal both jumped 0.98 percent, Maxis surged 2.92 percent, Maybank dipped 0.19 percent, MISC shed 0.55 percent, MRDIY and Public Bank both climbed 0.67 percent, Nestle Malaysia sank 0.64 percent, Petronas Chemicals tanked 2.74 percent, Petronas Dagangan fell 0.31 percent, PPB Group tumbled 2.10 percent, QL Resources skidded 1.27 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.15 percent, Sunway advanced 0.65 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 0.59 percent, Tenaga Nasional perked 0.14 percent, YTL Corporation declined 1.46 percent, YTL Power retreated 1.48 percent and Sime Darby and SD Guthrie were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is flat to higher as the major averages spent most of Tuesday in the shallow red before a late push nudged them barely into positive territory at the close.

The Dow added 10.26 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 44,556.34, while the NASDAQ rose 14.49 points or 0.07 percent to close at 20,041.26 and the S&P gained 14.95 points or 0.24 percent to end at a record 6,139.58.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as some traders remained on the sidelines following the Presidents' Day holiday on Monday.

In economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York noted a turnaround by regional manufacturing activity in February. Also, the National Association of Home Builders said homebuilder confidence in the U.S. has unexpectedly deteriorated in February.

Oil prices moved higher on Tuesday on supply concerns after Ukraine launched a drone attack on an export pipeline in Russia. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March settled at $71.85 a barrel, gaining $1.11, or 1.57 percent.