The Malaysia stock market has fallen lower in consecutive trading days, skidding more than seven points or 0.5 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index remains just above the 1,535-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation on disappointing earnings news. The European markets and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The KLCI finished barely lower on Tuesday following losses from the plantation stocks and a mixed performance from the financial shares.
For the day, the index eased 0.04 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 1,537.08 after trading between 1,532.89 and 1,537.87. Volume was 2.7 billion shares worth 2.1 billion ringgit. There were 597 decliners and 251 gainers.
Among the actives, Kuala Lumpur Kepong plummeted 2.53 percent, while Maxis plunged 2.37 percent, Press Metal tumbled 1.98 percent, MISC skidded 1.62 percent, Genting spiked 1.47 percent, Petronas Chemical retreated 1.07 percent, Dialog Group declined 0.89 percent, CIMB Group advanced 0.81 percent, Tenaga Nasional jumped 0.80 percent, RHB Capital collected 0.53 percent, Top Glove sank 0.53 percent, AMMB Holdings climbed 0.51 percent, Sime Darby advanced 0.46 percent, Public Bank perked 0.45 percent, Sime Darby Plantations shed 0.38 percent, Maybank lost 0.24 percent, Digi.com added 0.23 percent, Hartalega Holdings rose 0.16 percent and IHH Healthcare, Axiata Group, IOI Corporation and Genting Malaysia all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks opened in the red on Tuesday and stayed there most of day, although the NASDAQ peeked above the unchanged line at the session's end.
The Dow shed 165.89 points or 0.56 percent to end at 29,232.19, while the NASDAQ rose 1.57 points or 0.02 percent to 9,732.74 and the S&P 500 fell 9.87 points or 0.29 percent to 3,370.29.
The weakness on Wall Street came after tech giant Apple (AAPL) warned of weaker than previously forecast second quarter revenue. Apple expects to miss its forecast for Q2 due to lower iPhone production and weak Chinese demand as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Disappointing earnings news from Walmart (WMT) also weighed on the markets after the retail giant reported weaker than expected fourth quarter results and provided disappointing guidance.
In economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said growth in New York manufacturing activity saw a notable acceleration in February. A separate report from the National Association of Home Builders showed a slight deterioration in homebuilder confidence in February.
Crude oil futures ended flat on Tuesday with traders weighing the impact of the coronavirus on global energy demand and OPEC and allies' move on production cuts. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for March ended at $52.05 a barrel, unchanged from previous close.
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