Rally May Stall For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has tracked higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering more than 5 points or 0.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,450-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over the outlook for the economy and for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished barely higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the plantations and financials and weakness from the telecoms.

For the day, the index perked 0.96 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 1,451.53 after trading between 1,449.19 and 1,456.40.

Among the actives, Celcomdigi fell 0.23 percent, while CIMB Group dropped 0.36 percent, Dialog Group slumped 0.47 percent, Genting rallied 0.91 percent, IHH Healthcare advanced 0.67 percent, IOI Corporation dipped 0.25 percent, Maxis declined 0.73 percent, Maybank gained 0.22 percent, MISC eased 0.14 percent, MRDIY retreated 0.64 percent, Petronas Chemicals spiked 1.59 percent, PPB Group perked 0.13 percent, Press Metal surged 2.30 percent, Public Bank sank 0.24 percent, RHB Capital rose 0.18 percent, Sime Darby Plantations added 0.24 percent, Telekom Malaysia jumped 1.39 percent, Tenaga Nasional tumbled 0.79 percent, Westports Holdings improved 0.59 percent and Genting Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Axiata and Sime Darby were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and quickly turned lower, although the NASDAQ managed to finish in the green.

The Dow dropped 174.86 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 34,288.83, while the NASDAQ rose 8.28 points or 0.06 percent to close at 13,505.87 and the S&P 500 slipped 12.22 points or 0.28 percent to end at 4,387.55.

The lackluster performance on Wall Street came as traders continued to look ahead to the economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later this week.

Early volatility in the bond market may also have contributed to the choppy trading, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note showing wild swings back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing modestly lower.

In economic news, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales in the U.S. slumped much more than expected in July.

Crude oil futures eased on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September slipped $0.37 or 0.5 percent at $80.35 a barrel.