Malaysia Stock Market May Tick Higher On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has ticked lower in three straight sessions, shedding more than 25 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,555-point plateau although it may find traction on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on the outlook for trade. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished sharply lower on Monday with damage across the board, especially among the telecoms and industrials.

For the day, the index sank 15.61 points or 0.99 percent to finish at 1,556.14 after trading between 1,550.93 and 1,566.57.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail added 0.46 percent, while Axiata plummeted 5.88 percent, Celcomdigi retreated 1.76 percent, CIMB Group weakened 1.11 percent, Gamuda and Telekom Malaysia both contracted 0.44 percent, IHH Healthcare slid 0.29 percent, IOI Corporation declined 1.33 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong tumbled 1.86 percent, Maxis surrendered 2.13 percent, MISC shed 0.65 percent, MRDIY slumped 1.24 percent, Nestle Malaysia skidded 1.08 percent, Petronas Chemicals crashed 3.33 percent, PPB Group plunged 5.48 percent, Press Metal stumbled 1.98 percent, Public Bank dipped 0.22 percent, QL Resources lost 0.64 percent, RHB Bank dropped 0.75 percent, Sime Darby fell 0.46 percent, Sunway and SD Guthrie both eased 0.21 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.70 percent, YTL Corporation tanked 2.78 percent, YTL Power cratered 2.99 percent and Maybank was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is slightly positive as the major averages spent most of Monday in the red before a late pushed them up and barely over the unchanged line.

The Dow climbed 137.33 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 42,792.07, while the NASDAQ rose 4.36 points or 0.02 percent to close at 19,215.46 and the S&P 500 perked 5.22 points or 0.09 percent to end at 5,963.60.

The initial weakness on Wall Street came in reaction to news that Moody's has downgraded the U.S. debt rating by a notch to Aa1 from Aaa.

Selling pressure waned over the course of the session, however, as traders seem to remain generally optimistic about the outlook for the markets.

On the U.S. economic front, the Conference Board released a report showing its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators slumped by more than expected in the month of April.

Crude oil prices saw mild upside on Monday after Goldman Sachs raised its outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery rose $0.17 of 0.27 percent to $62.66 per barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will provide April figures for imports, exports and trade balance later today. In March, imports were down 2.8 percent on year and exports rose 6.8 percent for a trade surplus of MYR24.70 billion.