Continued Consolidation Called For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the six-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 45 points or 3.4 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,450-point plateau and it may take further damage on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with oil and technology stocks likely to lead the way lower. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares, plantations and telecoms.

For the day, the index shed 9.19 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 1,451.24 after trading between 1,449.02 and 1,462.56.

Among the actives, Axiata fell 0.37 percent, while CIMB Group dropped 0.54 percent, Dialog Group lost 0.43 percent, Genting plunged 2.86 percent, Genting Malaysia tanked 1.54 percent, IHH Healthcare eased 0.17 percent, IOI Corporation slumped 0.72 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong was down 0.28 percent, Maxis gained 0.25 percent, Maybank dipped 0.33 percent, MISC added 0.28 percent, MRDIY plummeted 2.72 percent, Petronas Chemicals tumbled 1.44 percent, PPB Group slid 0.36 percent, Press Metal perked 0.20 percent, Public Bank declined 1.20 percent, RHB Capital slipped 0.18 percent, Sime Darby shed 0.46 percent, Sime Darby Plantations skidded 0.66 percent, Telekom Malaysia retreated 0.98 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.52 percent and Westports Holdings, Celcomdigi, Hong Leong Financial and QL Resources were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and finished the same way.

The Dow advanced 71.15 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 35,630.68, while the NASDAQ sank 62.11 points or 0.43 percent to close at 14,283.91 and the S&P 500 fell 12.23 points or 0.27 percent to end at 4,576.73.

The modest weakness on Wall Street may partly have reflected profit taking, as some traders looked to cash in on the strong gains posted last month.

Overall trading activity remained somewhat subdued, however, as traders continued to look ahead to Friday's closely watched monthly jobs report.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity contracted for the ninth consecutive month in July. Also, the Commerce Department said construction spending rose slightly less than expected in June.

Crude oil futures ended lower on Tuesday thanks to a firm dollar and data showing a slowdown in global manufacturing activity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $0.43 at $81.37 a barrel.