Malaysia Shares Likely Rangebound On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finished through the last four trading days since the end of the three-day slide in which it had fallen more than 10 points or 0.8 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,390-point plateau and it figures to see little movement again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement amidst a lack of catalysts and ahead of key U.S. employment data later this week. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses were closed for the Independence Day holiday and the Asian markets figure to see a steady start.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and plantation stocks.

For the day, the index dipped 3.40 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 1,392.49 after trading between 1,388.85 and 1,396.33.

Among the actives, Axiata fell 0.38 percent, while Celcomdigi rallied 0.96 percent, CIMB Group advanced 0.78 percent, Dialog Group jumped 1.40 percent, Genting stumbled 1.70 percent, IHH Healthcare skidded 0.85 percent, IOI Corporation gained 0.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.09 percent, Maxis shed 0.49 percent, Maybank sank 0.57 percent, MISC declined 1.67 percent, MRDIY tumbled 1.85 percent, Petronas Chemicals retreated 1.47 percent, Press Metal climbed1.04 percent, Public Bank dropped 0.76 percent, RHB Capital collected 0.18 percent, Sime Darby slumped 1.44 percent, Sime Darby Plantations lost 0.46 percent, Telekom Malaysia rose 0.20 percent, Tenaga Nasional added 0.33 percent, Westports Holdings slid 0.28 percent and Genting Malaysia, PPB Group and Nestle were unchanged.

There is no lead from Wall Street, although the European markets saw mild consolidation on disappointing economic data, while Canadian shares ticked slightly higher on gains from energy companies.

Traders will look to the minutes of the latest U.S. Federal Reserve meeting later today, along with the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Recent data has pointed to a resilient U.S. economy, while slowing inflation has added to optimism about the outlook for interest rates. The Fed is still widely expected to raise interest rates by a quarter point later this month, but traders are hopeful that will be end of the rate-hiking cycle.