Renewed Consolidation Expected For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market bounced higher again on Wednesday, one session after snapping the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 35 points or 2.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,600-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

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

For the day, the index collected 13.10 points or 0.82 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,603.05 after trading as low as 1,592.32.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail slumped 1.74 percent, while Axiata tanked 2.19 percent, Celcomdigi soared 3.42 percent, Gamuda was up 0.22 percent, IHH Healthcare gathered 0.55 percent, IOI Corporation increased 1.07 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 0.79 percent, Maxis rallied 1.44 percent, Maybank climbed 1.34 percent, MISC perked 0.14 percent, MRDIY stumbled 1.79 percent, Nestle Malaysia improved 1.28 percent, Petronas Chemicals plummeted 4.39 percent, PPB Group strengthened 1.37 percent, Public Bank collected 1.12 percent, QL Resources spiked 2.39 percent, RHB Bank jumped 1.54 percent, SD Guthrie surged 3.75 percent, Telekom Malaysia advanced 1.03 percent, Tenaga Nasional rose 0.72 percent, YTL Corporation accelerated 1.98 percent, YTL Power added 0.88 percent and Sime Darby, Sunway, Press Metal and CIMB Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened lower and largely stayed that way, although the NASDAQ peeked up into the green by the close.

The Dow dropped 225.09 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 44,368.56, while the NASDAQ perked 6.10 points or 0.03 percent to close at 19,649.95 and the S&P 500 lost 16.53 points or 0.27 percent to end at 6,051.97.

The early sell-off on Wall Street came following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased by more than expected in January.

The hotter than expected inflation data increased speculation the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates on hold for a prolonged period.

Oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday, weighed down by data showing a larger than expected increase in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures settled lower by $1.95 or about 2.66 percent at $71.37 a barrel, falling after three successive days of gains.