Malaysia Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 25 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,560-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher ahead of key data points this week. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished slightly higher again on Monday following gains from the financial shares and nixed performances from the telecoms and plantations.

For the day, the index added 4.73 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 1,559.98 after trading between 1,554.15 and 1,560.26.

Among the actives, Axiata slumped 1.12 percent, while Celcomdigi sank 0.71 percent, CIMB Group perked 0.15 percent, Genting eased 0.21 percent, Genting Malaysia fell 0.37 percent, IHH Healthcare advanced 0.83 percent, IOI Corporation lost 0.49 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong climbed 0.88 percent, Maxis improved 0.56 percent, Maybank collected 0.52 percent, MISC was up 0.13 percent, MRDIY shed 0.66 percent, Petronas Chemicals dropped 0.88 percent, PPB Group added 0.51 percent, Press Metal tumbled 1.70 percent, Public Bank rose 0.24 percent, QL Resources rallied 1.00 percent, Sime Darby jumped 1.11 percent, Telekom Malaysia gathered 0.16 percent, Tenaga Nasional surged 2.43 percent, YTL Corporation spiked 1.53 percent, YTL Power gained 0.25 percent and RHB Capital and Sime Darby Plantations were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as the major averages were fairly volatile on Monday but finished mixed and little changed.

The Dow dipped 11.24 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 38,892.80, while the NASDAQ rose 5.43 points or 0.03 percent to close at 16,253.80 and the S&P 500 eased 1.95 points or 0.04 percent to end at 5,202.39.

The choppy trading on the day came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of closely watched inflation data later in the week.

The inflation data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates, as Federal Reserve officials have repeatedly said they need greater confidence inflation is slowing before cutting rates.

Wednesday will also see the release of the minutes of the Fed's latest monetary policy meeting, which could also shed additional light on officials' thinking on rates.

Oil prices drifted lower on Monday amid slightly easing geopolitical tensions after Israel removed its troops from Southern Gaza. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended down $0.48 or 0.55 percent at $86.43 a barrel.