Mild Upside Predicted For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday ended the six-day losing streak in which it had stumbled almost 35 points or 2.1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,615-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on easing treasury yields. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index climbed 18.72 points or 1.17 percent to finish at 1,615.40 after trading between 1,595.35 and 1,617.41.

Among the actives, Axiata accelerated 2.50 percent, while Celcomdigi strengthened 1.57 percent, CIMB Group rallied 2.19 percent, Genting gained 0.63 percent, IOI Corporation advanced 0.79 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong jumped 1.63 percent, Maxis spiked 2.51 percent, Maybank climbed 1.31 percent, MISC soared 3.12 percent, Petronas Chemicals was up 0.30 percent, Petronas Dagangan tumbled 2.22 percent, Petronas Gas lost 0.22 percent, PPB Group perked 0.27 percent, Press Metal surged 4.11 percent, Public Bank collected 1.22 percent, QL Resources rose 0.48 percent, RHB Capital gathered 0.36 percent, Sime Darby added 0.72 percent, SD Guthrie skyrocketed 4.71 percent, Telekom Malaysia improved 1.45 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.46 percent, YTL Power increased 1.43 percent and MRDIY, Genting Malaysia, IHH Healthcare and YTL Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages spent much Tuesday under water before a late rally nudged them modestly up into the green.

The Dow climbed 140.26 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 38,711.29, while the NASDAQ rose 28.38 points or 0.17 percent to close at 16,857.05 and the S&P 500 perked 7.94 points or 0.15 percent to end at 5,291.34.

The higher close by the major averages came on a notable decrease by treasury yields, which extended their recent decline. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note closed lower for the fourth straight session, pulling back further off the nearly one-month closing high last Wednesday.

The continued advance by treasuries came amid signs of weakness in the labor market, with a report from the Labor Department showing a modest decrease in U.S. job openings in April.

On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly jobs report, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for the economy and interest rates.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session amid concerns about possible oversupply in the market after OPEC decided to phase out voluntary production cuts from October. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for July fell $0.97 or 1.3 percent at $73.25 a barrel.