Malaysia Stocks May See Additional Support

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday ended the four-day losing streak in which it had slumped almost 25 points or 1.5 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,385-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to slightly higher, with apprehension reigning over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets saw mild upside and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the plantations, weakness from the telecoms and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index rose 1.91 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 1,383.17 after trading between 1,377.35 and 1,383.58.

Among the actives, Axiata spiked 2,14 percent, while Celcomdigi declined 1.79 percent, CIMB Group rallied 1.46 percent, Dialog Group slumped 1.42 percent, Genting sank 0.72 percent, Genting Malaysia dropped 0.79 percent, IHH Healthcare soared 3.16 percent, Inari and Telekom Malaysia both retreated 1.57 percent, IOI Corporation jumped 1.60 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 0.66 percent, Maxis added 0.24 percent, MISC fell 0.14 percent, MRDIY tumbled 1.89 percent, Petronas Chemicals lost 0.46 percent, PPB Group dipped 0.13 percent, Press Metal improved 0.63 percent, Public Bank collected 0.79 percent, Sime Darby plummeted 3.86 percent, Sime Darby Plantations surged 4,03 percent, Tenaga Nasional skidded 1.27 percent and Maybank and RHB Capital were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages spent much of Tuesday bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, finally finishing with slight gains.

The Dow rose 10.42 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 33,573.28, while the NASDAQ added 46.99 points or 0.36 percent to close at 13,276.42 and the S&P 500 picked up 10.06 points or 0.24 percent to end at 4,283.85.

Traders remained reluctant to make significant moves as they continue to look ahead to next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

The Fed is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday, with the central bank widely expected to pause its recent series of interest rate hikes.

Crude oil prices slumped Tuesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to economic slowdown and interest rate hikes. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July fell $0.41 or 0.6 percent at $71.74 a barrel.