Malaysia Bourse May Hand Back Tuesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than a dozen points or 0.6 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,750-point plateau although it may turn lower again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on surging oil prices and weakness among technology stocks. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets also figure to open to the downside.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, telecoms and industrials.

For the day, the index rose 5.25 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 1,750.56 after trading between 1,748.45 and 1,755.54. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail climbed 0.89 percent, while AMMB Holdings spiked 0.93 percent, Axiata retreated 1.31 percent, Celcomdigi rose 0.33 percent, CIMB Group shed 0.38 percent, Gamuda improved 0.44 percent, IHH Healthcare strengthened 1.01 percent, IOI Corporation sank 0.47 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong dropped 0.67 percent, Maybank collected 0.54 percent, MISC added 0.37 percent, MRDIY contracted 1.21 percent, Nestle Malaysia tumbled 1.44 percent, Petronas Chemicals rallied 2.62 percent, Petronas Dagangan declined 1.26 percent, PPB Group eased 0.18 percent, Press Metal jumped 2.16 percent, Public Bank fell 0.21 percent, RHB Bank expanded 0.85 percent, Sime Darby increased 0.46 percent, Telekom Malaysia vaulted 1.05 percent, Tenaga Nasional gained 0.41 percent, YTL Power advanced 0.71 percent and SD Guthrie, Sunway, Sunway Healthcare, YTL Corporation, Maxis and Petronas Gas were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened lower but trended higher as the session progressed, with the Dow finally peaking into positive territory by the day's end.

The Dow rose 56.09 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 49,760.56, while the NASDAQ sank 185.92 points or 0.71 percent to end at 26,088.20 and the S&P 500 dipped 11.88 points or 0.16 percent to close at 7,400.96.

An extended surge by the price of crude oil contributed to the early sell-off on Wall Street, with U.S. crude oil futures soaring by more than 4 percent and jumping back above $100 a barrel.

The continued increase by the price of crude oil comes as the U.S. and Iran struggle to reach an agreement to end the war and reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz.

The weakness on Wall Street also came following the release of a report from the Labor Department showing the fastest annual rate of consumer price growth since May 2023 - making any rate cuts in the near future extremely unlikely.