Malaysia Shares May See Renewed Consolidation On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than a dozen points or 0.8 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,575-point plateau although it may head south again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on renewed ambiguity surrounding U.S. tariff policies. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished barely higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and a mixed picture from the industrials and telecoms.

For the day, the index perked 1.58 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 1,576.70 after trading between 1,561.36 and 1,576.91. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail sank 0.79 percent, while AMMB Holdings rallied 1.48 percent, Axiata strengthened 1.24 percent, Celcomdigi added 0.82 percent, CIMB Group stumbled 2.56 percent, Gamuda advanced 0.90 percent, IHH Healthcare was up 0.15 percent, Maxis improved 0.86 percent, Maybank jumped 1.62 percent, MRDIY gained 0.68 percent, Nestle Malaysia declined 1.49 percent, Petronas Chemicals plunged 2.77 percent, Petronas Dagangan surged 2.93 percent, Petronas Gas rose 0.32 percent, PPB Group plummeted 3.32 percent, Public Bank collected 0.70 percent, QL Resources spiked 2.20 percent, RHB Bank climbed 0.92 percent, Sime Darby tumbled 2.42 percent, SD Guthrie and Hong Leong Bank both fell 0.20 percent, Sunway soared 2.64 percent, Telekom Malaysia slumped 1.42 percent, Tenaga Nasional increased 0.30 percent, YTL Corporation retreated 2.34 percent, YTL Power perked 0.25 percent and IOI Corporation, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, MISC and Press Metal were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower and remained in the red throughout the day, although off session lows.

The Dow dropped 249.07 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 45,295.81, while the NASDAQ sank 175.92 points or 0.82 percent to end at 21,279.63 and the S&P 500 lost 44.72 points or 0.69 percent to close at 6,415.54.

The early sell-off on Wall Street came amid renewed trade uncertainty after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled most of President Donald Trump's global tariffs are illegal.

Treasury yields surged in reaction to the ruling amid concerns the government may have to repay the billions of dollars already brought in through Trump's tariffs.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing a slight increase by its reading on U.S. manufacturing activity in August, although the index still posted its sixth consecutive month of contraction.

Crude oil jumped on Tuesday on concerns about supply disruptions increased following strikes on Russian energy sites by Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.51 or 2.36 percent at $65.52 per barrel.