Bargain Hunting May Boost Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one day after ending the three-day losing streak in which it had slipped more than 25 points or 1.6 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,640-point plateau although it may inch higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement as traders keep a watchful eye on the unrest in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were flat with a touch of upside and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The KLCI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, industrials and telecoms, while the plantation stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index slumped 17.08 points or 1.03 percent to finish at 1,639.31 after trading between 1,633.08 and 1,647.30.

Among the actives, Axiata plunged 2.80 percent, while CIMB Group lost 1.36 percent, Genting tanked 2.35 percent, Genting Malaysia declined 2.05 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 0.48 percent, Maxis fell 1.27 percent, Maybank slipped 0.76 percent, MISC eased 0.38 percent, MRDIY shed 1.44 percent, Petronas Chemicals dropped 1.72 percent, PPB Group climbed 1.09 percent, Press Metal sank 1.58 percent, Public Bank skidded 1.74 percent, QL Resources rallied 1.08 percent, RHB Bank stumbled 1.77 percent, Sime Darby dipped 0.81 percent, SD Guthrie slid 1.05 percent, Sunway plummeted 2.82 percent, Telekom Malaysia retreated 2.08 percent, Tenaga Nasional was down 0.69 percent, YTL Corporation slumped 1.99 percent, YTL Power tumbled 2.16 percent and IHH Healthcare, IOI Corporation and Celcomdigi were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests very mild upside as the major averages opened slightly lower on Wednesday, hugged the like throughout the session and finished barely higher.

The Dow added 39.55 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 42,196.52, while the NASDAQ gained 14.76 points or 0.08 percent to close at 17,925.12 and the S&P 500 perked 0.79 points or 0.01 percent to end at 5,709.54.

The early weakness on Wall Street partly reflected concerns about escalating tensions in the Middle East following Iran's ballistic missile attack against Israel on Tuesday.

While Iran has said it is not interested in a wider war, the attacks have contributed to a surge by the price of crude oil, leading to worries higher energy prices will lead to a spike in inflation.

Waning optimism the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively lower interest rates also weighed on stocks after payroll processor ADP reported stronger than expected private sector job growth in the month of September.

Oil futures settled modestly higher on Wednesday as traders bet on a likely drop in supplies due the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for November ended up $0.27 or 0.39 percent at $70.10 a barrel.