The Malaysia stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one session after it had ended the three-day slide in which it had dipped just 4 points or 0.2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,595-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on solid earnings news and the outlook for the global economy. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and plantation stocks.
For the day, the index picked up 8.16 points or 0.51 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,594.59 after peaking at 1,601.90. Volume was 2 billion shares worth 1.6 billion ringgit. There were 447 decliners and 318 gainers.
Among the actives, Petronas Gas plummeted 2.35 percent, while CIMB Group plunged 2.12 percent, RHB Capital tumbled 1.63 percent, Genting Malaysia soared 1.31 percent, Dialog Group skidded 1.14 percent, Sime Darby retreated 0.95 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong declined 0.84 percent, Digi.com shed 0.80 percent, IOI Corporation lost 0.70 percent, Axiata advanced 0.61 percent, IHH Healthcare sank 0.35 percent, Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional both fell 0.29 percent, Maybank eased 0.23 percent, Sime Darby Plantations was down 0.21 percent, Genting slid 0.17 percent and PPB Group, Maxis, Top Glove, Hap Seng and Hartalega Holdings all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks opened higher on Wednesday and stayed that way throughout the day - offsetting the pullback in the previous session.
The Dow added 240.29 points or 0.93 percent to 26,202.73, while the NASDAQ gained 71.65 points or 0.90 percent to 8,020.21 and the S&P 500 rose 23.92 points or 0.82 percent to 2,924.43.
The initial strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from retail giants Target (TGT) and Lowe's (LOW). The results from the retailers added to optimism that consumer spending will continue to support the U.S. economy despite early indicators of a looming recession.
Stocks remained positive following the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting, which showed the central bank intends to remain flexible regarding future changes to interest rates.
The Fed is scheduled to hold its next monetary policy meeting September 17th and 18th, with CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicating at 98.1 percent chance of another 25 basis point rate cut.
Crude oil prices eased Wednesday on lingering concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to global economic slowdown. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended down $0.45 or 0.8 percent at $55.68 a barrel.
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