Malaysia Shares Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Wednesday's holiday for Wesak Day, the Malaysia stock market had ended the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 25 points or 1.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,620-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on a dimming outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index fell 5.41 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 1,622.09 after trading between 1,620.80 and 1,628.38.

Among the actives, Axiata fell 0.34 percent, while Celcomdigi tanked 2.40 percent, Genting retreated 1.04 percent, Genting Malaysia skidded 0.73 percent, IHH Healthcare sank 0.63 percent, IOI Corporation plunged 2.73 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong plummeted 3.74 percent, Maxis and YTL Corporation both gained 0.26 percent, MISC added 0.36 percent, Petronas Chemicals declined 0.85 percent, PPB Group tumbled 1.96 percent, Press Metal slumped 0.74 percent, QL Resources surrendered 1.98 percent, RHB Capital dropped 0.72 percent, Sime Darby lost 0.35 percent, Sime Darby Plantations shed 0.45 percent, Telekom Malaysia surged 3.67 percent, YTL Power dipped 0.19 percent and Maybank, MRDIY, Petronas Gas, Public Bank, CIMB Group and Tenaga Nasional were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages spent the first half of Wednesday hugging the line before stumbling into the red late in the day.

The Dow tumbled 201.95 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 39,671.04, while the NASDAQ dropped 31.08 points or 0.18 percent to close at 16,801.54 and the S&P 500 fell 14.40 points or 0.27 percent to end at 5,307.01.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as the Fed minutes suggested officials expect to maintain interest rates at current levels longer than previously thought.

The minutes of the April 30-May 1 meeting said participants highlighted disappointing readings on inflation over the first quarter and indicators pointing to strong economic momentum.

While officials also discussed reducing policy restraint in the event of an unexpected weakening in labor market conditions, participants also noted a willingness to raise rates further of necessary should risks to inflation materialize.

Oil prices fell to a two-month low on Wednesday after data showed an unexpected rebound in crude oil inventories in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for July ended down by $1.09 or 1.4 percent at $77.57 a barrel.