Malaysia Bourse May Open To The Downside On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Tuesday's holiday for Nuzul Al'Quran, the Malaysia stock market had moved higher in three straight sessions, advancing almost 45 points or 3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,525-point plateau although the rally may stall on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft ahead of the FOMC rate decision later today. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares, telecoms, plantations and industrials.

For the day, the index climbed 15.66 points or 1.04 percent to finish at 1,527.81 after trading between 1,517.58 and 1,531.63.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail sank 0.49 percent, while Axiata strengthened 1.65 percent, Celcomdigi dropped 0.84 percent, CIMB Group spiked 2.55 percent, Gamuda added 0.99 percent, IHH Healthcare dipped 0.14 percent, IOI Corporation, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 0.76 percent, Maxis retreated 1.24 percent, Maybank collected 0.97 percent, MISC rose 0.43 percent, Nestle Malaysia plummeted 4.56 percent, Petronas Chemicals climbed 1.35 percent, PPB Group increased 1.21 percent, Press Metal shed 0.40 percent, Public Bank improved 1.34 percent, QL Resources gathered 0.42 percent, RHB Bank rallied 2.19 percent, Sime Darby stumbled 1.46 percent, SD Guthrie perked 0.21 percent, Sunway jumped 1.79 percent, Telekom Malaysia accelerated 2.33 percent, Tenaga Nasional advanced 1.19 percent, YTL Corporation surged 2.59 percent, YTL Power soared 2.56 percent and MRDIY were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained in the red throughout the trading day, ending near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 260.32 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 41,581.31, while the NASDAQ plunged 304.55 points or 1.71 percent to close at 17,504.12 and the S&P 500 sank 60.46 points or 1.07 percent to end at 5,614.66.

Concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump's trade policies continued to weigh along with worries about the economic outlook despite the release of some upbeat economic data.

The Federal Reserve said industrial production in the U.S. increased much more than expected in January. Also, the Commerce Department said new residential construction rebounded more than anticipated in February.

Traders were also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy announcement later today. While the Fed is expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will look to the accompanying statement as well as officials' latest projections for clues about the outlook for rates.

Oil futures settled lower on Tuesday as concerns about supply disruptions eased, while worries about global growth due to the impact of U.S. trade tariffs weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $0.68 or 1 percent at $66.90 a barrel.