Losing Streak May Continue For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, slipping almost 10 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just shy of the 1,455-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation on growth concerns. The European and U.S markets were down and the Asian markets are predicted to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index lost 7.89 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 1,454.83 after trading between 1,452.48 and 1,462.58.

Among the actives, Axiata plummeted 2.40 percent, while Celcomdigi added 0.50 percent, CIMB Group stumbled 1.05 percent, Genting tumbled 1.38 percent, IOI Corporation slid 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 0.37 percent, Maybank eased 0.22 percent, MISC tanked 1.80 percent, MRDIY declined 1.36 percent, Petronas Chemicals gained 0.28 percent, Press Metal slumped 1.00 percent, Public Bank sank 0.70 percent, RHB Capital and Petronas Dagangan both fell 0.35 percent, Sime Darby retreated 1.32 percent, Sime Darby Plantations plunged 2.25 percent, Telekom Malaysia shed 0.39 percent, Tenaga Nasional rose 0.10 percent, Westports Holdings dropped 0.86 percent and PPB Group, Maxis, Dialog Group, IHH Healthcare, Genting Malaysia and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and largely remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow dropped 195.74 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 34,641.97, while the NASDAQ dipped 10.86 points or 0.08 percent to close at 14,020.95 and the S&P 500 fell 18.94 points or 0.42 percent to end at 4,496.83.

Concerns about the outlook for global economy following the release of disappointing Chinese and European data weighed on the market. A firm dollar and higher Treasury yields hurt as well.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a significant pullback in factory orders in July.

Oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia and Russia announced they will extend their voluntary production cuts by three months. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended higher by $1.14 or about 1.3 percent at $86.69 a barrel.