Malaysia Stock Market Tipped To Extend Tuesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday snapped the four-day winning streak in which it had gained more than 40 points or 2.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,495-point plateau and it may take further damage on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, and concerns that the economy is slowing. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday as losses from the plantations, telecoms and glove makers were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index fell 7.02 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 1,495.05 after trading between 1,490.72 and 1,503.00. Volume was 2.861 billion shares worth 1.597 billion ringgit. There were 699 decliners and 228 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 1.39 percent, while Dialog Group declined 1.33 percent, Digi.com sank 0.83 percent, Genting dropped 0.84 percent, Genting Malaysia retreated 1.36 percent, Hartalega Holdings and Telekom Malaysia both shed 0.72 percent, IHH Healthcare stumbled 1.23 percent, INARI tanked 2.08 percent, IOI Corporation fell 0.48 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong plummeted 2.40 percent, Maybank rose 0.11 percent, MISC dipped 0.28 percent, MRDIY jumped 1.33 percent, Petronas Chemicals weakened 1.12 percent, PPB Group lost 0.49 percent, Press Metal climbed 1.02 percent, Public Bank collected 0.43 percent, RHB Capital gained 0.17 percent, Sime Darby added 0.42 percent, Sime Darby Plantations slumped 1.14 percent, Tenaga Nasional plunged 2.35 percent, Top Glove skidded 1.01 percent and CIMB Group, Maxis and Nestle were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened deep in the red on Tuesday, pared some of the losses but still closed well in negative territory.

The Dow plummeted 402.23 points or 1.23 percent to finish at 32,396.17, while the NASDAQ dipped 20.22 points or 0.16 percent to close at 12,348.76 and the S&P 500 sank 27.44 points or 0.67 percent to end at 4,091.19.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as tensions climbed the U.S. and China due to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

In economic news, the Labor Department said the number of job openings in the United States fell by 605,000 from a month earlier to 10.7 million in June, the lowest in nine months and below market expectations of 11 million.

Crude oil futures settled higher Tuesday, with traders weighing demand and supply prospects and looking ahead to this week's OPEC+ meeting. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $0.53 or 0.6 percent at $94.42 a barrel.