Malaysia Shares May Take Further Damage On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market headed south again on Tuesday, one day after snapping the two-day slide in which it had dipped almost 8 points or 0.6 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,445-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down, and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the financials, plantations and telecoms.

For the day, the index dropped 14.46 points or 0.99 percent to finish at 1,445.92 after trading between 1,443.54 and 1,457.64. Volume was 2.978 billion shares worth 1.564 billion ringgit. There were 479 decliners and 381 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata sank 0.35 percent, while CIMB Group fell 0.72 percent, Dialog Group surrendered 1.94 percent, Digi.com dipped 0.53 percent, Genting slid 0.68 percent, Genting Malaysia stumbled 1.46 percent, Hartalega Holdings weakened 1.39 percent, IHH Healthcare gained 0.34 percent, INARI dropped 1.20 percent, IOI Corporation tanked 2.45 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong plummeted 3.23 percent, Maybank slipped 0.58 percent, Maxis declined 1.82 percent, MISC was down 0.41 percent, MRDIY lost 0.99 percent, Petronas Chemicals shed 1.03 percent, PPB Group sank 1.08 percent, Press Metal eased 0.23 percent, Public Bank skidded 1.34 percent, RHB Capital slumped 1.40 percent, Sime Darby plunged 2.67 percent, Sime Darby Plantations retreated 1.59 percent, Telekom Malaysia tumbled 2.16 percent, Tenaga Nasional dropped 0.24 percent and Top Glove added 0.63 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages were unable to hold early gains on Tuesday, quickly heading south and ending in the red.

The Dow shed 79.75 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 32,653.20, while the NASDAQ dropped 97.30 points or 0.89 percent to end at 10,890.85 and the S&P 500 fell 15.88 points or 0.41 percent to close at 3,856.10.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as traders wished to consolidate their positions ahead of the Fed announcement. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points, but traders have expressed optimism the central bank will signal plans to slow the pace of rate hikes at upcoming meetings.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a jump in U.S. job openings in September, while the Institute for Supply Management showed a slight increase in U.S. manufacturing activity in October. Also, the Commerce Department said construction spending in the U.S. unexpectedly increased in October.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday on a weak dollar, a reduction in OPEC crude output, an upward revision in oil demand forecast by OPEC, and record U.S. oil export data. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December jumped $1.84 or 2.1 percent at $88.37 a barrel.