The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, sliding almost 10 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,560-point plateau although it's looking at a green light on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is firm on renewed optimism for a resolution to the trade spat between the United States and China. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The KLCI finished barely lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, while the telecoms, plantations and industrials were mixed.
For the day, the index eased 1.34 points or 0.09 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,560.93 after moving as low as 1,550.92. Volume was 2.1 billion shares worth 1.7 billion ringgit. There were 492 decliners and 339 gainers.
Among the actives, Maxis plummeted 3.43 percent, while Tenaga Nasional surged 2.92 percent, Digi.com plunged 1.73 percent, MISC tumbled 1.22 percent, Top Glove skidded 1.13 percent, IHH Healthcare retreated 1.12 percent, AMMB Holdings dropped 1.04 percent, Genting sank 1.02 percent, Sime Darby Plantations shed 098 percent, RHB Capital collected 0.89 percent, Sime Darby advanced 0.88 percent, Petronas Chemical added 0.85 percent, Public Bank lost 0.82 percent, Genting Malaysia fell 0.63 percent, Dialog Group slid 0.59 percent, Axiata gained 0.48 percent, IOI Corporation rose 0.23 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong was up 0.17 percent, Maybank eased 0.12 percent and Malaysia Airports Holdings and CIMB Group were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as moved higher on Wednesday, recovering losses from the past few sessions.
The Dow added 146.97 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 27,649.78, while the NASDAQ gained 46.03 points or 0.54 percent to 8,566.67 and the S&P 500 rose 19.56 points or 063 percent to 3,112.76.
The rebound on Wall Street followed reports that the U.S. and China are moving closer to agreeing on the number of tariffs that would be rolled back in a phase one trade deal. The report added that U.S. negotiators expect a deal to be completed before U.S. tariffs are set to rise next week.
Renewed optimism about a potential trade deal offset negative sentiment generated by soft economic data, including a report from payroll processor ADP showing much weaker than expected private sector job growth in November.
Crude oil prices showed a substantial move to the upside during Wednesday as traders looked ahead to the start of OPEC's biannual meeting later today in Vienna. After inching up $0.14 or 0.3 percent to $56.10 a barrel on Tuesday, crude for January spiked $2.33 or 4.2 percent to $58.43 a barrel.
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