Malaysia Bourse Expected To Remain Rangebound

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had gained almost a dozen points or 0.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,625-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on solid earnings news and interest rate optimism. 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 slightly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares and telecoms, while the plantation stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index dipped 3.86 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 1,625.96 after trading between 1,624.39 and 1,633.97.

Among the actives, Axiata added 0.79 percent, while Celcomdigi plunged 2.17 percent, CIMB Group shed 0.42 percent, Genting jumped 1.28 percent, Genting Malaysia gathered 0.39 percent, IHH Healthcare perked 0.16 percent, IOI Corporation and YTL Corporation both slumped 0.54 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 0.81 percent, Maxis tanked 1.79 percent, Maybank lost 0.39 percent, MISC and Petronas Dagangan both eased 0.12 percent, MRDIY surged 5.61 percent, Petronas Chemicals tumbled 1.65 percent, Press Metal retreated 0.83 percent, QL Resources fell 0.30 percent, RHB Capital sank 0.53 percent, Sime Darby plummeted 3.25 percent, SD Guthrie rallied 1.19 percent, Sunway dropped 0.48 percent, Telekom Malaysia rose 0.57 percent, Tenaga Nasional dipped 0.14 percent, YTL Power gained 0.61 percent and PPB Group, Public Bank and Hong Leong Financial were unchanged.

The Dow surged 742.76 points or 1.85 percent to finish at a record 40,945.48, while the NASDAQ added 36.77 points or 0.20 percent to close at 18,509.34 and the S&P 500 rose 35.98 points or 0.64 percent to end at 5,667.20 - also a record.

The strength on Wall Street reflected positive earnings news from the likes of UnitedHealth (UNH), Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS).

Traders also reacted positively to the latest U.S. economic news, including a Commerce Department report showing U.S. retail sales came in unchanged in June. The Labor Department also released a report showing import prices in the U.S. were unexpectedly flat last month while export prices slid 0.5 percent.

Gold stocks also saw significant strength amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.4 percent. The index reached a more than two-year closing high.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday, extending losses to a third straight session amid concerns about the outlook for demand and a slightly stronger dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August sank $1.15 or 1.4 percent at $80.76 a barrel.