Additional Support Expected For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than 10 points or 0.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,440-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is inconsistent, with gains from the technology stocks likely to be offset by weakness from the energy producers. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials, weakness from the plantations and glove makers and a mixed picture from the telecoms.

For the day, the index rose 3.29 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 1,440.81 after trading between 1,435.58 and 1,444.67. Volume was 1.990 billion shares worth 1.206 billion ringgit. There were 423 decliners and 373 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata retreated 1.10 percent, while CIMB Group added 0.40 percent, Dialog Group soared 1.97 percent, Digi.com tumbled 1.41 percent, Genting slumped 0.66 percent, Genting Malaysia and Nestle both advanced 1.06 percent, Hartalega Holdings tanked 1.81 percent, IHH Healthcare and Sime Darby Plantations both sank 0.47 percent, INARI climbed 1.18 percent, IOI Corporation fell 0.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong plummeted 3.50 percent, Maybank was up 0.12 percent, Maxis declined 0.91 percent, MISC rose 0.29 percent, MRDIY surged 2.00 percent, PPB Group jumped 1.80 percent, Press Metal spiked 1.95 percent, Public Bank collected 0.46 percent, RHB Capital perked 0.18 percent, Telekom Malaysia gained 0.38 percent, Tenaga Nasional rallied 1.39 percent, Top Glove plunged 3.08 percent and Petronas Chemicals and Sime Darby were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed to higher as the major averages opened with deep losses on Tuesday; they improved throughout the session, although the Dow remained stuck in the red.

The Dow shed 129.44 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 30,967.82, while the NASDAQ surged 194.39 points or 1.75 percent to end at 11,322.24 and the S&P 500 rose 6.06 points or 0.16 percent to end at 3,831.39.

Growth fears outweighed news that U.S. President Joe Biden may announce a rollback of some U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports.

Investors also looked ahead to the release of the minutes of the central bank's latest policy meeting and the non-farm payrolls data, due out later in the week.

In economic news, the Labor Department said factory orders increased more than expected in May.

Crude oil prices plunged sharply Tuesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand following a surge in Covid cases in China, while fears about Fed tightening, a strong greenback and a possible global slowdown also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August plummeted $8.93 or 8.2 percent at $99.50 a barrel.