Malaysia Stock Market May See Additional Support On Wednesday.

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the four-day losing streak in which it had retreated more than 35 points or 2.1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,560-point plateau and it's expected to open in the green on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing concerns of a trade war. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and mixed performances from the telecoms and plantations.

For the day, the index gained 10.93 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 1,564.56 after trading between 1,554.59 and 1,564.97. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail jumped 1.77 percent, while Axiata added 0.45 percent, Celcomdigi slumped 1.33 percent, CIMB Group surged 2.37 percent, Gamuda advanced 0.97 percent, IHH Healthcare gained 0.42 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 0.30 percent, Maxis strengthened 1.73 percent, Maybank collected 0.78 percent, MISC sank 0.82 percent, MRDIY rallied 1.82 percent, Nestle Malaysia tumbled 1.76 percent, Petronas Chemicals retreated 1.36 percent, PPB Group slid 0.17 percent, Press Metal rose 0.41 percent, Public Bank spiked 1.85 percent, RHB Capital was up 0.31 percent, SD Guthrie climbed 1.24 percent, Sunway soared 2.30 percent, Telekom Malaysia improved 1.22 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.29 percent, YTL Power shed 0.33 percent and Petronas Dagangan, Petronas Gas, Sime Darby, QL Resources, YTL Corporation and IOI Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but trended upward throughout the session to finish solidly in the green and at session highs.

The Dow climbed 134.13 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 44,556.04, while the NASDAQ rallied 262.06 points or 1.35 percent to close at 19,654.02 and the S&P 500 gained 43.31 points or 0.72 percent to end at 6,037.88.

The strength on Wall Street partly reflected easing concerns about a global trade war after President Donald Trump agreed to pause 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for a month.

Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to a report from the Labor Department showing job openings in the U.S. fell by much more than expected in December.

The data led to some optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the release of the Labor Department's more closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday as Trump agreed to postpone levies on Canada and Mexico's exports to the United States. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March settled at $72.70 a barrel, down $0.46 or about $0.63 percent.