Ahead of Tuesday's market holiday, the Malaysia stock market had finished lower in back-to-back trading days, sliding almost 15 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,640-point plateau and it's expected to extend its losses on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation ahead of the Federal Reserve's announcement on interest rates later today. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Monday as losses from the financials and industrials were mitigated by support from the plantation stocks.
For the day, the index lost 5.27 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 1,642.69 after trading between 1,637.25 and 1,648.71. Volume was 2.6 billion shares worth 1.7 billion ringgit. There were 581 decliners and 303 gainers.
Among the actives, RHB Capital plummeted 3.72 percent, while Genting plunged 1.56 percent, Genting Malaysia tumbled 1.28 percent, Malaysia Airports Holdings skidded 1.18 percent, Public Bank retreated 0.98 percent, CIMB Group declined 0.97 percent, IHH Healthcare spiked 0.88 percent, Sime Darby Plantations jumped 0.85 percent, Digi.com climbed 0.81 percent, Axiata dropped 0.79 percent, Dialog Group shed 0.58 percent, IOI Corporation advanced 0.48 percent, Sime Darby sank 0.46 percent, Petronas Chemicals lost 0.39 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 0.25 percent, Top Glove gained 0.22 percent and Maxis, Hartalega Holdings, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks opened firmly in the red on Tuesday. They showed a modest recovery as the day progressed but still finished in negative territory.
The Dow shed 23.33 points or 0.09 percent to 27,198.02, while the NASDAQ lost 19.71 points or 0.24 percent to 8,273.61 and the S&P 500 fell 7.79 points or 0.26 percent to 3,013.18.
The weakness on Wall Street reflected concerns about U.S.-China trade talks after President Donald Trump lashed out at China on Twitter, suggesting that the Chinese are hoping to wait out the U.S. presidential election to get a better deal.
Selling pressure waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today. The Fed is expected to cut interest rates by at least 25 basis points in a proactive move to offset the negative effects of the U.S.-China trade war.
Crude oil futures rose sharply on Tuesday, as traders awaited the Federal Reserve's monetary policy statement and weekly crude inventory data. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for September ended up $1.18 or 2.1 percent at $58.05 a barrel.
Closer to home, Malaysia will release June figures for producer prices later today; in May, producer prices added 0.2 percent on month and sank 1.5 percent on year.
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