Rebound Anticipated For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had risen more than 15 points or 1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,630-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the end of the U.S. government shutdown. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday as losses from the telecoms were offset by support from the financial shares and a mixed picture from the industrials.

For the day, the index dipped 3.22 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 1,631.61 after trading between 1,630.12 and 1,641.27. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail and Petronas Gas both rose 0.32 percent, while AMMB Holdings improved 0.87 percent, Axiata lost 0.36 percent, Celcomdigi tanked 1.35 percent, CIMB Group tumbled 0.78 percent, IHH Healthcare declined 0.72 percent, Maybank collected 0.30 percent, MISC perked 0.13 percent, Nestle Malaysia advanced 0.80 percent, Petronas Chemicals plunged 1.40 percent, Petronas Dagangan stumbled 1.13 percent, Public Bank slumped 0.70 percent, QL Resources plummeted 2.97 percent, RHB Bank jumped 1.17 percent, Sime Darby added 0.49 percent, SD Guthrie retreated 0.73 percent, Sunway gathered 0.19 percent, Telekom Malaysia sank 0.68 percent, Tenaga Nasional was up 0.15 percent, YTL Power increased 0.52 percent and PPB Group, Press Metal, IOI Corporation, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Maxis, Gamuda, YTL Corporation and MRDIY were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is contradictory as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday but took different paths to finish mixed and little changed.

The Dow jumped 326.86 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 48,254.82, while the NASDAQ slipped 61.84 points or 0.26 percent to close at 23,406.46 and the S&P 500 rose 4.31 points or 0.06 percent to end at 6,850.92.

The continued advance by the Dow came amid strong gains by UnitedHealth (UNH), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Cisco Systems (CSCO). But continued decline by the tech-heavy NASDAQ reflected lingering valuation concerns.

Traders also kept an eye on developments in Washington, where the House of Representatives will vote on a bill ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

After the Senate voted Monday to approve the bill extending funding for most agencies until January 30, the House is set to vote on the legislation within the next few hours.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Wednesday after OPEC's monthly report suggested that global supply now exceeds demand by about 500,000 barrels per day. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was down $2.62 or 4.31 percent at $58.40 per barrel.