Malaysia Stock Market May Open Higher On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, slipping more than 25 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,575-point plateau although it may find support on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky on conflicting signals about the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

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

For the day, the index sank 9.13 points or 0.58 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,576.46 after peaking at 1,599.43.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail skidded 0.87 percent, while Axiata surged 4.02 percent, CIMB Group retreated 1.60 percent, Gamuda declined 1.46 percent, IHH Healthcare fell 0.28 percent, IOI Corporation dropped 0.79 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong stumbled 2.18 percent, Maybank climbed 1.19 percent, Nestle Malaysia gained 0.22 percent, Petronas Chemicals shed 0.63 percent, Petronas Dagangan rallied 1.35 percent, Petronas Gas perked 0.11 percent, PPB Group advanced 0.66 percent, Press Metal sank 0.64 percent, Public Bank slumped 1.12 percent, QL Resources spiked 1.55 percent, RHB Bank dipped 0.16 percent, Sime Darby jumped 1.38 percent, SD Guthrie tumbled 1.45 percent, Sunway plummeted 5.35 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 0.61 percent, Tenaga Nasional lost 0.58 percent, YTL Corporation plunged 5.22 percent, YTL Power tanked 4.75 percent and MISC, MRDIY, Maxis and Celcomdigi were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday but quickly faded and then hugged the line before ending mixed.

The Dow advanced 221.16 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 42,518.28, while the NASDAQ slumped 43.71 points or 0.23 percent to close at 19.044.39 and the S&P 500 rose 6.69 points or 0.11 percent to end at 5,842.91.

The initial strength on Wall Street came following the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices rose by slightly less than expected in the month of December.

The smaller than expected monthly increase by producer prices helped ease recent concerns about the outlook for inflation and interest rates, although the faster annual growth kept buying interest somewhat subdued.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the release of a more closely watched report on consumer price inflation later today.

Oil prices came off five-month highs on Tuesday as investors shifted their focus on the possible impact of Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on imports. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February closed lower by $1.32 or about 1.67 percent at $77.50 a barrel.