Malaysia Shares Tipped To Remain Rangebound

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day losing streak in which it had slipped almost 15 points or 0.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,675-point plateau although it's likely to head south again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak, as traders are expected to lock in gains with several markets at or near record highs. The European and U.S. markets were mostly in the red and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the plantations and financials and mixed performances from the telecoms and industrials.

For the day, the index rose 4.48 points or 0.27 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,676.83 after trading as low as 1,665.94. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail surged 2.87 percent, while AMMB Holdings skidded 1.09 percent, Celcomdigi slumped 1.16 percent, CIMB Group and Tenaga Nasional both climbed 0.88 percent, Gamuda tumbled 1.42 percent, IHH Healthcare sank 0.81 percent, IOI Corporation strengthened 1.24 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rose 0.10 percent, Maxis advanced 0.78 percent, Maybank dipped 0.19 percent, MISC fell 0.26 percent, MRDIY soared 2.63 percent, Nestle Malaysia jumped 1.41 percent, Petronas Chemicals dropped 0.88 percent, Petronas Dagangan expanded 0.60 percent, Petronas Gas rallied 1.10 percent, PPB Group lost 0.38 percent, Press Metal improved 0.71 percent, Public Bank collected 0.22 percent, QL Resources stumbled 2.81 percent, RHB Bank added 0.51 percent, SD Guthrie accelerated 1.60 percent, Sunway shed 0.71 percent, Telekom Malaysia gained 1.17 percent, YTL Power spiked 1.82 percent and Axiata, Sime Darby and YTL Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday and hugged the line for much of the day before a late slump saw them end mixed.

The Dow dropped 466.00 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 48,996.08, while the NASDAQ rose 37.10 points or 0.16 percent to close at 23,584.28 and the S&P 500 sank 23.89 points or 0.34 percent to end at 6,920.93.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders took a step back to assess the recent strength in the markets, which lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs on Tuesday.

Traders were also digesting the latest U.S. economic data, including a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector employment increased less than expected in December.

Also, the Labor Department said job openings in the U.S. fell more than expected in November, while the Institute for Supply Management noted an unexpected increase by its reading on U.S. service sector activity in December.

Crude oil prices plunged again on Wednesday due to emerging supply side concerns following U.S. attempts to gain control of Venezuelan oil wealth. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was down $1.11 or 1.94 percent at $56.02 per barrel.