Renewed Selling Pressure Anticipated For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the four-day losing streak in which it had dropped more than a dozen points or 0.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,425-point plateau although it's expected to head south again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on concerns over interest rates and possible recession. The European and U.S. markets were firmly lower and the Asian markets are tipped to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and telecoms, while the plantations were mixed.

For the day, the index gained 10.16 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 1,426.11 after trading between 1,415.92 and 1,428.32.

Among the actives, Axiata rose 0.33 percent, while CIMB Group gathered 0.59 percent, Dialog Group improved 1.31 percent, Genting strengthened 1.49 percent, Genting Malaysia soared 2.58 percent, IHH Healthcare accelerated 1.92 percent, INARI surged 2.61 percent, IOI Corporation and Tenaga Nasional both advanced 0.79 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong tumbled 1.86 percent, Maxis increased 0.68 percent, Maybank collected 0.23 percent, MISC was up 0.14 percent, MRDIY spiked 2.53 percent, Petronas Chemicals jumped 1.69 percent, PPB Group climbed 0.86 percent, Press Metal perked 0.58 percent, Public Bank added 0.77 percent, RHB Capital gained 0.73 percent, Sime Darby shed 0.46 percent, Sime Darby Plantations rallied 1.64 percent and Digi.com, Telekom Malaysia, QL Resources and Nestle Malaysia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower and moved deeper into the red as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 367.17 points or 1.08 percent to finish at 33,684.17, while the NASDAQ sank 132.09 points or 1.08 percent to end at 12,080.51 and the S&P 500 dropped 48.29 points or 1.16 percent to close at 4,119.58.

The sell-off on Wall Street came as some traders looked to cash in on recent strength in the markets ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today.

With the Fed widely expected to raise interest rates by another 25 basis points, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.

Concerns about lawmakers' struggles to reach an agreement on raising the U.S. debt ceiling also weighed on Wall Street. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the Treasury might run out of money to cover obligations by June 1.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured goods increased more than expected in March. Also, the Labor Department showed job openings in the U.S. fell more than expected in March.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Tuesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand amid fears of a potential recession in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $4.00 or 5.3 percent to $71.66 a barrel, the lowest close since March 24.

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 central bank is expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 2.75 percent.