Renewed Selling Pressure Expected For Malaysia Shares

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday wrote a finish to the three-day losing streak in which it had stumbled more than 25 points or 1.8 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,420-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on rising concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished barely higher on Tuesday as gains from the financials were offset by weakness from the industrials and a mixed picture from the telecoms.

For the day, the index perked 1.25 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 1,420.01 after trading between 1,417.94 and 1,424.11.

Among the actives, Axiata dropped 0.81 percent, while Celcomdigi and Maybank both rose 0.23 percent, CIMB Group was up 0.19 percent, Dialog Group slumped 0.95 percent, Genting lost 0.48 percent, Genting Malaysia tumbled 1.20 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.52 percent, Maxis gained 0.25 percent, MISC and Tenaga Nasional both climbed 0.71 percent, MRDIY spiked 1.33 percent, Petronas Chemicals stumbled 0.99 percent, Petronas Dagangan plunged 1.50 percent, Petronas Gas rallied 0.72 percent, PPB Group sank 0.52 percent, Press Metal perked 0.21 percent, RHB Capital collected 0.37 percent, Sime Darby Plantations jumped 0.93 percent, Telekom Malaysia dipped 0.20 percent, Westports Holdings advanced 0.63 percent and Sime Darby, Public Bank, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, IOI Corporation, Hong Leong Bank, Hong Leong Financial and AMMB Holdings were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and continued to sink as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow plunged 430.97 points or 1.29 percent to finish at 33,002.38, while the NASDAQ tumbled 248.31 points or 1.87 percent to close at 13,059.47 and the S&P 500 sank 58.94 points or 1.37 percent to end at 4,229.45.

The sell-off on Wall Street followed a report from the Labor Department unexpectedly showing a notable increase in U.S. job openings in August.

The data added to interest rate concerns amid worries strength in the labor market could convince the Federal Reserve to raise rates higher than had been anticipated and keep rates an elevated level for longer than expected.

The interest rate worries contributed to a continued surge by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note jumping to its highest level in 16 years.

Oil futures settled higher on Tuesday on optimism that OPEC+ won't change its production policy at the committee's meeting later today. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November added $0.41 or 0.5 percent at $89.23 a barrel.