Malaysia Shares May Reverse Tuesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had improved more than 15 points or 1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just shy of the 1,615-point plateau, although it's likely to move back to the upside again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mildly positive ahead of the U.S. interest rate decision later today. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index slipped 4.82 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 1,613.56 after trading between 1,610.18 and 1,620.23. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail added 0.32 percent, while AMMB Holdings advanced 0.71 percent, Axiata slipped 0.77 percent, CIMB Group lost 0.81 percent, Gamuda climbed 1.19 percent, Hong Leong Bank rose 0.10 percent, IHH Healthcare shed 0.84 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.19 percent, Maxis skidded 1.03 percent, Maybank dipped 0.30 percent, MISC rallied 1.42 percent, MRDIY declined 1.20 percent, Nestle Malaysia improved 0.47 percent, Petronas Chemicals retreated 1.48 percent, Public Bank was down 0.24 percent, QL Resources stumbled 2.10 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.15 percent, Sime Darby dropped 0.96 percent, SD Guthrie sank 0.93 percent, Sunway slid 0.36 percent, Telekom Malaysia gained 0.28 percent, Tenaga Nasional slumped 1.05 percent, YTL Corporation fell 0.79 percent, YTL Power jumped 1.56 percent and Celcomdigi, Petronas Dagangan, Petronas Gas, PPB Group, Press Metal and IOI Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher and remained in the green throughout the trading day, ending at fresh record closing highs.

The Dow climbed 161.78 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 47,706.37, while the NASDAQ jumped 190.04 points or 0.80 percent to close at 23,827.49 and the S&P added 15.73 points or 0.23 percent to end at 6,890.89.

The strength on Wall Street came as stocks continued to benefit from recent upward momentum amid optimism about a potential trade deal between the U.S. and China.

However, traders seemed somewhat reluctant to make more 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, traders will look to the accompanying statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting comments for clues about the likelihood of further rate cuts.

Crude oil prices moved sharply lower on Tuesday on news that OPEC is leaning toward another modest increase in production in December. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery plunged $1.32 or 2.2 percent to $59.99 a barrel.