Malaysia Shares May Find Support On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, sinking almost 5 points or 0.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,720-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is unclear amid uncertainties surrounding the conflict in the Middle East. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the plantations, telecoms and industrials. For the day, the index slipped 3.07 points or 0.18 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,717.27 after peaking at 1,731.79.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Monday and hugged the line throughout the session before ending on oppositive sides.

The Dow sank 62.92 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 49,167.79, while the NASDAQ climbed 50.50 points or 0.20 percent to close at 24,887.10 and the S&P 500 rose 8.83 points or 0.12 percent to end at 7,173.91.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves amid a lack of clarity about the situation in the Middle East after U.S.-Iran peace talks stalled over the weekend.

Traders are also likely to keep an eye on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision scheduled for Wednesday. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, the central bank's accompanying statement may provide clues about the outlook for rates.

Crude oil prices soared on Monday after the proposed U.S.-Iran negotiations were called off by the U.S. as supply disruption concerns continue. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $2.32 or 2.46 percent at $96.72 per barrel.