Malaysia Bourse Expected To Be Rangebound On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday ended the four-day losing streak in which it had given up more than 15 points or 0.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,615-point plateau although it figures to spin its wheels on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement ahead of the FOMC rate decision later today. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the plantations and mixed performances from the financials, telecoms and industrials.

For the day, the index rose 1.39 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 1,614.17 after trading between 1,606.23 and 1,620.73. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail spiked 1.72 percent, while AMMB Holdings advanced 0.82 percent, Celcomdigi dropped 0.92 percent, CIMB Group lost 0.63 percent, Gamuda retreated 1.15 percent, IHH Healthcare rose 0.24 percent, IOI Corporation jumped 1.24 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong increased 0.63 percent, Maxis stumbled 1.30 percent, Maybank fell 0.20 percent, MISC gained 0.41 percent, MRDIY shed 0.68 percent, Nestle Malaysia sank 0.71 percent, Petronas Chemicals surged 2.56 percent, Petronas Dagangan slipped 0.31 percent, Petronas Gas and Sime Darby both rallied 1.06 percent, PPB Group perked 0.20 percent, Press Metal improved 0.74 percent, QL Resources skidded 1.00 percent, RHB Bank soared 2.07 percent, SD Guthrie vaulted 1.15 percent, Sunway dipped 0.18 percent, YTL Corporation added 0.48 percent, YTL Power climbed 0.93 percent and Telekom Malaysia, Tenaga Nasional, Axiata and Public Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as the major averages opened mixed and fairly flat and stayed that way through the session.

The Dow dropped 179.03 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 47,560.29, while the NASDAQ rose 30.58 points or 0.13 percent to close at 23,576.49 and the S&P 500 eased 6.00 points or 0.09 percent to end at 6,840.51.

Traders were reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today. While the Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by another quarter point, there is considerable uncertainty about the longer-term outlook for rates.

Traders are likely to pay close attention to the wording of the Fed's accompanying statement as well as Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting press conference for clues about the likelihood of further rate cuts.

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department said job openings in the U.S. edged slightly higher in October.

Crude oil prices slumped on Tuesday as Iraq resumed crude flow from Lukoil's West Qurna oil fields while the U.S. dollar gained ground after job data from the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was down $0.66 or 1.12 percent at $58.22 per barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will release October numbers for unemployment later today; in September, the unemployment rate was 3.0 percent.