Malaysia Shares Expected To Be Rangebound On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday ended the six-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 35 points or 2.1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,510-point plateau and it's likely to remain in that neighborhood again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is uncertain ahead of the FOMC's rate decision and statement later today. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index dipped 2.64 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 1,512.75 after trading between 1,511.84 and 1,520.31.

Among the actives, Axiata and Genting Malaysia both sank 0.37 percent, while Celcomdigi declined 0.95 percent, IHH Healthcare tanked 1.46 percent, IOI Corporation skidded 0.50 percent, Maxis retreated 1.05 percent, Maybank rose 0.11 percent, MRDIY and AMMB Holdings both slumped 0.70 percent, Petronas Chemicals rallied 1.49 percent, PPB Group stumbled 0.82 percent, Press Metal plunged 1.66 percent, Public Bank shed 0.23 percent, RHB Capital fell 0.18 percent, Sime Darby plummeted 2.01 percent, Sime Darby Plantations tumbled 1.11 percent, Telekom Malaysia dipped 0.17 percent, Tenaga Nasional lost 0.19 percent, YTL Corporation added 0.42 percent, YTL Power surged 6.33 percent and MISC, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, CIMB Group, Petronas Gas, Genting and QL Resources were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday; the Dow turned higher and finished in the green, while the NASDAQ remained under water throughout the session and the S&P bounced back and forth across the line before ending slightly in the red.

The Dow climbed 133.86 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 38,467.31, while the NASDAQ dropped 118.15 points or 0.76 percent to close at 15,509.90 and the S&P 500 dipped 2.96 points or 0.06 percent to end at 4,924.97.

The pullback by the NASDAQ came as traders cashed in on the recent strength in the tech sector ahead of the release of quarterly results from the likes of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), software giant Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META).

Uncertainty ahead of today's Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement may also have inspired traders to book profits. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but the accompanying statement could have a significant impact on the outlook for rates.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted an unexpected increase in job openings in December. Also, the Conference Board reported a continued improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in January.

Crude oil prices moved sharply on Tuesday, largely offsetting the steep drop in the previous session after the International Monetary Fund raised its global growth forecast for 2024. West Texas Intermediate for March delivery jumped $1.04 or 1.4 percent to $77.82 a barrel.