The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost a dozen points or 0.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,650-point plateau and it may take further damage on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat, with profit taking expected following recent gains. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were slightly lower and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KLCI finished slightly lower on Tuesday following losses from the industrials and mixed performances from the financial shares and plantation stocks.
For the day, the index fell 4.27 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 1,651.20 after trading between 1,649.81 and 1,657.36. Volume was 2.2 billion shares worth 2 billion ringgit. There were 455 gainers and 348 decliners.
Among the actives, MISC surged 2.29 percent, while Tenaga Nasional plummeted 2.19 percent, Hartalega Holdings plunged 1.50 percent, RHB Capital tumbled 1.03 percent, Axiata Group spiked 0.86 percent, CIMB Group collected 0.76 percent, Genting Malaysia dropped 0.62 percent, Dialog Group skidded 0.61 percent, Maybank dropped 0.55 percent, Genting advanced 0.46 percent, Sime Darby rose 0.44 percent, IOI Corporation added 0.23 percent, Sime Darby Plantations shed 0.22 percent, Petronas Chemicals fell 0.12 percent, Public Bank slid 0.09 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 0.08 percent and Digi.com, IHH Healthcare, Top Glove, Petronas Gas and Hong Leong Financial all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks failed to sustain an initial move to the upside Tuesday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing slightly lower.
The Dow shed 14.17 points or 0.05 percent to end at 26,048.51, while the NASDAQ lost 0.60 points or 0.01 percent to 7,822.57 and the S&P 500 fell 1.01 points or 0.03 percent to 2,885.72.
The initial strength on Wall Street reflected recent optimism for a potential interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, with the central bank due to make its next monetary policy decision next week.
Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, inspiring traders to cash in on recent gains as they await further developments regarding the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
Crude oil futures ended little changed on Tuesday as traders appeared to be waiting for a clear picture to emerge from the OPEC meeting scheduled June 25 in Vienna. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for July ended at $53.27 a barrel, up a penny from Monday's close.
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