Rally May Stall For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has ticked higher in two straight sessions, gathering more than 7 points or 0.5 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,425-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on renewed fears for the economy in the face of a Caovid-19 resurgence. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished barely higher on Tuesday following gains from the plantations and glove makers, while the financials and telecoms were mixed.

For the day, the index rose 0.29 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 1,426.08 after trading between 1,418.50 and 1,426.19. Volume was 2.365 billion shares worth 1.271 billion ringgit. There were 569 decliners and 292 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata gained 0.36 percent, while CIMB Group sank 0.39 percent, Dialog Group advanced 0.99 percent, Digi.com retreated 1.15 percent, Genting rose 0.22 percent, Hartalega Holdings surged 4.20 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.47 percent, INARI plummeted 6.74 percent, IOI Corporation spiked 2.37 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong jumped 1.84 percent, Maybank collected 0.23 percent, MISC improved 0.74 percent, MRDIY tanked 2.87 percent, Petronas Chemicals tumbled 2.24 percent, PPB Group soared 2.56 percent, Press Metal plunged 3.27 percent, RHB Capital increased 0.71 percent, Sime Darby declined 1.83 percent, Sime Darby Plantations strengthened 1.47 percent, Telekom Malaysia was up 0.19 percent, Tenaga Nasional climbed 1.39 percent, Top Glove rallied 2.02 percent and Genting Malaysia, Maxis and Public Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday, but a late slide pushed them into the red at the close.

The Dow dropped 192.51 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 30,981.51, while the NASDAQ sank 107.87 points or 0.95 percent to end at 11,264.73 and the S&P 500 lost 35.63 points or 0.92 percent to close at 3,818.80.

The late-day weakness on Wall Street came as traders looked ahead to the Labor Department's report on consumer price inflation for June.

Concerns about the emergence of a new, more infectious Covid-19 strain in several parts of the world also continued to weigh.

Investors also seemed to be moving money out of stocks ahead of what some expect to be a difficult quarterly earnings season.

The price of crude oil plummeted on Tuesday on concerns about the outlook for global demand due to recession fears and a renewed spike in Covid-19 cases. West Texas Intermediate for August delivery shed $8.25 or 7.9 percent to $95.84 a barrel, closing below $100 a barrel for the first time in two months.