Rally May Stall For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has ticked higher in consecutive trading days, gathering more than 7 points or 0.5 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,445-point plateau and it's likely to run out of steam on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on geopolitical concerns and the dimming outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Wednesday as gains from the plantations were offset by weakness from the financial shares and a mixed picture from the telecoms.

For the day, the index perked 2.41 points or 0.17 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,446.54 after moving as low as 1,441.06.

Among the actives, Celcomdigi rallied 1.41 percent, while CIMB Group dropped 0.71 percent, Genting and Public Bank both slid 0.24 percent, Genting Malaysia lost 0.40 percent, IHH Healthcare shed 0.50 percent, IOI Corporation gained 0.76 percent, Maxis dipped 0.25 percent, Maybank sank 0.56 percent, Petronas Chemicals spiked 2.00 percent, PPB Group surged 3.76 percent, Sime Darby advanced 0.89 percent, Sime Darby Plantations soared 2.12 percent, Telekom Malaysia improved 0.79 percent, Tenaga Nasional added 0.40 percent, Westports Holdings fell 0.31 percent and MRDIY, Dialog Group, RHB Capital, Axiata, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Press Metal and MISC were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and remained in the red throughout the day.

The Dow tumbled 332.57 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 33,665.08, while the NASDAQ dropped 219.44 points or 1.39 percent to close at 13,314.30 and the S&P 500 sank 58.60 points or 1.34 percent to end at 4,314.60.

The weakness on Wall Street came amid rising tensions in the Middle East after a deadly missile attack on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza killed several hundred people.

Hamas tried to attribute the blast to an Israeli airstrike, but the Israeli military said with some evidence it was not involved and the explosion was caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket.

Higher bond yields added to the negative sentiment raising concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department noted a substantial rebound in new residential construction in the U.S. in September.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday on rising concerns over supplies as geopolitical concerns escalated after the large explosion at the Gaza hospital. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November jumped $1.66 or 1.9 percent at $88.32 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will release September figures for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to slide 13.4 percent on year after tumbling 21.2 percent in August. Exports are tipped to fall an annual 17.1 percent after sinking 18.6 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is expected to come in at 22.2 billion ringgit, up from 17.3 billion a month earlier.