Mild Upside Seen For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost a dozen points or 0.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,615-point plateau although it's likely to rebound higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on plummeting oil prices following the U.S. midterm elections. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday as losses among the technology, finance and energy sector were countered by gains from the health and commercial companies.

For the day, the index fell 5.29 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 1,616.56 after trading between 1,614.34 and 1,623.31.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and stayed firmly in the green throughout the trading day, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 1,569.40 points or 3.03 percent to finish at 53,356.12, while the NASDAQ jumped 364.50 points or 1.44 percent to close at 25,736.51 and the S&P 500 rallied 119.70 points or 1.58 percent to end at 7,688.62.

The rally on Wall Street was a positive reaction to the Democrats' decisive victory in the midterm elections on Tuesday after they won control of both the House and Senate after flipping several seats in traditionally Republican states.

In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. grew by more than expected in October. Also, the Institute for Supply Management said service sector growth saw a modest slowdown last month.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Wednesday, losing the geopolitical risk premium as a comfortable victory for the Democrat party in the U.S. midterm elections eased concerns of renewed U.S.-Iran escalation. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was down $8.39 or 8.73 percent at $87.70 per barrel.

Closer to home, the central bank in Malaysia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting later today and then announce its decision on interest rates; the bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 2.75 percent.