Renewed Consolidation Called For Malaysia Shares

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market bounced higher again on Wednesday, one session after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 30 points or 2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,525-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative after U.S. President Donald Trump outlined his plan to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the former lead.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the telecoms and mixed performances from the financial shares, plantations and industrials.

For the day, the index improved 12.87 points or 0.85 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,526.52 after trading as low as 1,514.08.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail retreated 1.47 percent, while Axiata advanced 1.12 percent, Celcomdigi surged 4.02 percent, CIMB Group spiked 2.00 percent, Gamuda gained 0.48 percent, IHH Healthcare lost 0.43 percent, IOI Corporation rallied 1.64 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong slumped 1.35 percent, Maxis added 0.59 percent, Maybank jumped 1.98 percent, MISC fell 0.42 percent, MRDIY and Tenaga Nasional both soared 2.84 percent, Nestle Malaysia stumbled 2.21 percent, Petronas Chemicals declined 1.38 percent, Press Metal eased 0.20 percent, Public Bank sank 0.68 percent, QL Resources rose 0.43 percent, RHB Bank improved 0.88 percent, Sime Darby tumbled 2.26 percent, SD Guthrie dipped 0.41 percent, Sunway dropped 0.88 percent, Telekom Malaysia increased 0.61 percent, YTL Corporation shed 0.50 percent, YTL Power climbed 1.20 percent and PPB Group and Petronas Gas were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off a soft open on Wednesday and tracked generally higher throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 235.36 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 42,225.32, while the NASDAQ advanced 151.16 points or 0.87 percent to close at 17,601.05 and the S&P 500 improved 37.90 points or 0.67 percent to end at 5,670.97.

The early weakness on Wall Street came amid concerns about the impact of Trump's reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners.

However, traders then saw the early slump as an opportunity to pick up stocks at reduced levels, leading to the subsequent rebound.

In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. increased more than expected in March. Also, the Commerce Department said factory orders increased more than anticipated in February.

Crude oil prices ticked higher again on Wednesday, despite data showing an unexpected increase by U.S. crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery rose $0.51 or 0.7 percent to $71.71 a barrel.