Little Movement Expected For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market bounced higher again on Wednesday, one day after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up almost a dozen points or 0.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just shy of the 1,520-point plateau and it figures to remain rangebound again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement as geopolitical concerns appear to have taken a breather. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index added 5.50 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 1,519.79 after trading between 1,515.86 and 1,524.71.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail added 0.95 percent, while AMMB Holdings shed 0.40 percent, Axiata soared 4.76 percent, Celcomdigi increased 1.04 percent, IHH Healthcare improved 1.67 percent, IOI Corporation sank 0.54 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong gained 0.60 percent, Maxis strengthened 1.95 percent, Maybank eased 0.10 percent, MRDIY rallied 2.48 percent, Nestle Malaysia jumped 2.32 percent, Petronas Chemicals surged 5.81 percent, Petronas Dagangan plunged 2.28 percent, PPB Group advanced 1.79 percent, Press Metal perked 0.20 percent, Public Bank lost 0.23 percent, RHB Bank dropped 0.95 percent, Sime Darby spiked 3.64 percent, Sunway tumbled 1.91 percent, Telekom Malaysia rose 0.46 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.14 percent, YTL Corporation climbed 1.90 percent, YTL Power accelerated 2.78 percent and CIMB Group, Gamuda, QL Resources, MISC and SD Guthrie.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened mixed and spent the whole day hugging the line before ending little changed.

The Dow dropped 106.59 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 42,982.43, while the NASDAQ added 61.02 points or 0.31 percent to close at 19,973.55 and the S&P 500 eased 0.02 points or 0.00 percent to end at 6,092.16.

The initial strength on Wall Street reflected recent upward momentum, which saw stocks move sharply higher over the two previous sessions.

Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as traders continue to monitor developments in the Middle East following yesterday's news of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The subsequent pullback likely was profit taking after the major averages reached their highest intraday levels in four months.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Commerce Department showed a substantial pullback by new home sales in the U.S. in May.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Wednesday as an EIA report indicated a draw in crude oil inventories and a surge in U.S. gasoline demand to a three-and-a-half-year high. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for August delivery closed up by $0.55 to settle at $64.92 per barrel.