Malaysia Shares Expected To Find Renewed Support

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 5 points or 0.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,600-point plateau although it's likely to rebound on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on rising optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower following losses from the financial shares and plantation stocks, while the telecoms were mixed.

For the day, the index dipped 2.65 points or 0.17 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,603.23 after peaking at 1,607.64.

Among the actives, Axiata gained 0.35 percent, while CIMB Group eased 0.15 percent, Genting rose 0.21 percent, Genting Malaysia sank 0.37 percent, IHH Healthcare declined 0.64 percent, IOI Corporation retreated 0.73 percent, Maxis tumbled 1.64 percent, MISC rallied 0.73 percent, MRDIY jumped 1.13 percent, Petronas Chemicals plunged 2.30 percent, PPB Group tanked 1.92 percent, Press Metal added 0.56 percent, Public Bank slumped 0.48 percent, QL Resources advanced 0.61 percent, RHB Capital shed 0.36 percent, Sime Darby Plantations plummeted 2.42 percent, Telekom Malaysia perked 0.16 percent, Tenaga Nasional lost 0.32 percent, YTL Corporation surged 3.13 percent, YTL Power spiked 1.98 percent and Sime Darby, Maybank, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Celcomdigi, AMMB Holdings and Nestle Malaysia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is strong as the major averages opened higher and remained in the green throughout, finishing near daily highs.

The Dow rallied 349.89 points or 0.88 percent to finish at 39,908.00, while the NASDAQ spiked 231.21 points or 1.40 percent to close at 16,742.29 and the S&P 500 jumped 61.47 points or 1.17 percent to end at 5,308.15.

The rally on Wall Street followed the release of a Labor Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. rose slightly less than expected in April.

Following Tuesday's hotter-than-expected producer price inflation data, the report added to recently renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

In other economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales in the U.S. unexpectedly came in flat in April, versus forecasts for an increase of 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, buoyed by soft inflation data and a report showing a bigger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended up by $0.61 or 0.78 percent at $78.63 a barrel.