The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in six straight sessions, sliding more than 45 points or 2.8 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,655-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, fueled by a rebound in crude oil prices. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed - and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.
For the day, the index sank 10.68 points or 0.64 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,652.63 after peaking at 1,665.69. Volume was 1.4 billion shares worth 1.5 billion ringgit. There were 549 decliners and 253 gainers,
Among the actives, Maxis plummeted 2.61 percent, while CIMB Group plunged 2.48 percent, Genting tumbled 1.98 percent, IHH Healthcare jumped 1.67 percent, Digi.com skidded 1.37 percent, Sime Darby dropped 1.31 percent, Axiata retreated 1.05 percent, Public Bank declined 0.81 percent, IOI Corporation shed 0.47 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 0.39 percent, Genting Malaysia lost 0.36 percent, Maybank fell 0.32 percent, Tenaga Nasional eased 0.15 percent, Petronas Chemicals slid 0.11 percent and Dialog Group and PPB Group were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as stocks showed a lack of direction on Tuesday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before finishing mixed.
The Dow shed 53.02 points or 0.22 percent to 24,370.24, while the NASDAQ added 11.31 points or 0.16 percent to 7,031.83 and the S&P 500 fell 0.94 points or 0.04 percent to 2,636.78.
Renewed optimism about U.S.-China trade talks contributed to the initial strength on Wall Street after a telephone call between top officials from the world's two largest economies.
But skepticism resurfaced following reports that the Trump administration is preparing a series of actions this week to call out China for allegedly stealing U.S. trade secrets and technologies.
A testy public exchange between Trump and top Democratic leaders over funding for his proposed border wall may have also raised concerns about a partial government shutdown.
Crude oil futures rebounded to close higher on Tuesday, aided by an unexpected supply cut from Libya. Crude oil futures for January ended up $0.65 or 1.3 percent at $51.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Closer to home, Malaysia will release October numbers for industrial production later today, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 2.6 percent following the 2.3 percent gain in September.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis