Narrow Trading Range Expected For Malaysia Shares

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one session after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up less than a point. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,615-point plateau and it's likely to hold steady in that neighborhood on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with optimism over earnings likely offset by profit taking. The European markets were slightly higher and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, telecoms and industrials.

For the day, the index improved 9.65 points or 0.60 percent to finish at 1,616.83 after trading between 1,609.02 and 1,617.15. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail soared 3.77 percent, while AMMB Holdings lost 0.70 percent, Axiata and Petronas Gas both rose 0.75 percent, Celcomdigi gathered 0.54 percent, CIMB Group was up 0.14 percent, Gamuda spiked 2.38 percent, IOI Corporation shed 0.75 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong jumped 1.37 percent, Maxis dropped 0.78 percent, Maybank collected 0.10 percent, MISC strengthened 1.26 percent, MRDIY climbed 1.18 percent, Nestle Malaysia surged 4.29 percent, Petronas Chemicals slumped 1.00 percent, Petronas Dagangan rallied 1.44 percent, Press Metal fell 0.48 percent, Public Bank accelerated 1.67 percent, QL Resources eased 0.23 percent, RHB Bank slipped 0.45 percent, Sime Darby improved 0.96 percent, SD Guthrie added 0.95 percent, Sunway gained 0.91 percent, Telekom Malaysia perked 0.42 percent, Tenaga Nasional advanced 1.07 percent, YTL Corporation increased 0.79 percent, YTL Power sank 0.76 percent and IHH Healthcare, PPB Group and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened flat on Tuesday and hugged the line for most of the day, finally finishing on opposite sides and little changed.

The Dow gained 218.16 points or 0.47 percent to finish at a record 46,924.74, while the NASDAQ slipped 36.88 points or 0.16 percent to end at 22,953.67 and the S&P 500 perked 0.22 points or 0.00 percent to close at 6,735.35.

The advanced by the Dow reflected a positive reaction to solid earnings news from companies like 3M (MMM), Coca-Cola (KO), Salesforce (CRM), Amazon (AMZN) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW).

Traders may have been reluctant to continue buying stocks amid lingering concerns about U.S.-China trade tensions and the ongoing government shutdown.

A lack of major U.S. economic data due in part to the shutdown may also have kept some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of closely watched consumer price inflation data on Friday.

Crude oil prices advanced on Tuesday as easing U.S.-China trade friction overrode a stronger greenback and excess supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was up $0.38 or 0.66 percent at $57.90 per barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will provide September data for consumer prices later today; in August, consumer prices were up 0.1 percent on month and 1,3 percent on year.