Malaysia Bourse May Stop The Bleeding On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in four straight sessions, sinking more than 30 points or 2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,675-point plateau although it may find traction on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement as the world waits for developments in the Middle East. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower again on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the plantations and telecoms.

For the day, the index dipped 3.97 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 1,676.86 after trading between 1,673.14 and 1,687.60. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail declined 0.90 percent, while AMMB Holdings dropped 0.81 percent, Axiata plummeted 2.21 percent, Celcomdigi jumped 1.66 percent, CIMB Group sank 0.68 percent, Gamuda advanced 0.79 percent, IHH Healthcare vaulted 1.16 percent, IOI Corporation added 0.47 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.09 percent, Maxis spiked 1.70 percent, Maybank and YTL Corporation both lost 0.53 percent, MISC tumbled 1.78 percent, Nestle Malaysia plunged 1.80 percent, Petronas Chemicals soared 2.26 percent, Petronas Dagangan rallied 1.35 percent, Petronas Gas retreated 1.54 percent, PPB Group climbed 1.00 percent, Press Metal slumped 0.89 percent, Public Bank skidded 0.86 percent, QL Resources gained 0.27 percent, Sime Darby surged 3.24 percent, SD Guthrie fell 0.32 percent, Sunway rose 0.20 percent, Telekom Malaysia stumbled 1.67 percent, YTL Power shed 0.56 percent and RHB Bank, Tenaga Nasional and MRDIY were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity s the major averages spent most of Tuesday well under water before a late push saw them end mixed and little changed.

The Dow shed 85.42 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 46,584.46, while the NASDAQ rose 21.51 points or 0.10 percent to close at 22,017.85 and the S&P 500 perked 5.02 points or 0.08 percent to end at 6,616.85.

Stocks showed a notable move to the upside late in the trading day after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on President Donald Trump to extend his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by two weeks to "allow diplomacy to run its course."

Trump had earlier threatened to attack Iran's power plants and bridges if Tehran fails to reach a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 pm ET.

Crude oil prices have inched higher on Tuesday as Iran remains unresponsive to U.S. threats to open up the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $0.65 or 0.58 percent at $113.06 per barrel.