Rebound Anticipated For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Wednesday's holiday for Hari Raya Haji, the Malaysia stock market had turned lower again, one session after ending the seven-day slide in which it had dropped more than 40 points or 2.5 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,700-point plateau although it's likely to bounce higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, thanks mostly to easing oil prices. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financials, industrials, plantations and telecoms.

For the day, the index shed 9.48 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 1,699.02 after trading between 1,696.14 and 1,707.52. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail tanked 2.64 percent, while AMMB Holdings jumped 1.08 percent, Axiata plummeted 3.47 percent, Celcomdigi climbed 0.98 percent, CIMB Group slipped 0.65 percent, Gamuda declined 1.85 percent, IHH Healthcare perked 0.22 percent, IOI Corporation improved 0.75 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rallied 2.11 percent, Maxis skidded 1.43 percent, Maybank dropped 1.08 percent, MISC stumbled 1.94 percent, MRDIY added 0.64 percent, Nestle Malaysia lost 0.86 percent, Petronas Chemicals soared 2.62 percent, Petronas Dagangan shed 1.01 percent, Petronas Gas sank 1.05 percent, Press Metal rose 0.33 percent, Public Bank advanced 0.84 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.61 percent, Sime Darby gained 0.48 percent, SD Guthrie and Telekom Malaysia both fell 0.67 percent, Sunway plunged 2.78 percent, Sunway Healthcare contracted 1.69 percent, Tenaga Nasional retreated 2.07 percent, YTL Corporation tumbled 2.36 percent, YTL Power slumped 1.44 percent and PPB Group was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mildly positive as the major averages spent much of the day bouncing back and forth across the line before ending little changed with a slight upside bias - but enough for all three to hit record closing highs..

The Dow climbed 182.60 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 50,644.28, while the NASDAQ added 18.55 points or 0.07 percent to close at 26,674.73 and the S&P 500 perked 1.24 points or 0.02 percent to end at 7,520.36.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent strength, while optimism about an eventual end to the conflict between the U.S. and Iran continues weigh on oil prices.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Wednesday as investors continue to anticipate a potential U.S.-Iran agreement, despite the hard line from the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $5.05 or 5.38 percent at $88.84 per barrel.

Traders may also have been somewhat reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key U.S. economic data later today, including the Federal Reserve's preferred readings on consumer price inflation.