Malaysia Shares May Tick Lower Again On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back trading days, although it has eased less than 2 points or 0.1 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,460-point plateau and it's likely to remain in that neighborhood again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is one of caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate decision and statement later today. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished barely lower on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index eased 0.33 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 1,457.66 after trading between 1,454.61 and 1,459.00.

Among the actives, Mr. DIY plunged 2.65 percent, while Genting spiked 1.67 percent, Dialog Group jumped 1.40 percent, PPB Group tumbled 1.25 percent, Westports Holdings retreated 1.21 percent, Petronas Dagangan rallied 1.12 percent, Maxis declined 0.97 percent, Sime Darby climbed 0.90 percent, Sime Darby Plantations stumbled 0.90 percent, Telekom Malaysia advanced 0.80 percent, Hong Leong Bank slumped 0.80 percent, Axiata improved 0.80 percent, Celcomdigi sank 0.45 percent, Petronas Chemicals added 0.41 percent, Genting Malaysia gained 0.40 percent, RHB Bank rose 0.35 percent, IOI Corporation lost 0.25 percent, Maybank fell 0.22 percent, Press Metal slid 0.20 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rose 0.19 percent, CIMB Group was down 0.17 percent, MISC eased 0.14 percent and Public Bank, IHH Healthcare, Tenaga Nasional and AMMB Holdings were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened flat, tumbled early and then saw a late recovery to finish with only modest losses.

The Dow shed 106.57 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 34,517.73, while the NASDAQ lost 32.05 points or 0.23 percent to close at 13,678.19 and the S&P 500 fell 9.58 points or 0.22 percent to end at 4,443.95.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders remained on edge ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today.

While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement and the central bank's projections for clues about the outlook for rates.

Negative sentiment may also have been generated by a Commerce Department report showing a sharp pullback in U.S. housing starts in August. Also, the Commerce Department said building permits surged more than expected in August.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Tuesday after posting gains in the three previous sessions to touch a 10-month high. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended lower by $0.28 or 0.3 percent at $91.20 a barrel.