Malaysia Stock Market May Halt Its Slide

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking more than 10 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,720-point plateau although it's likely to stop the bleeding on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive thanks to solid earnings news. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Tuesday following losses among the plantations and telecoms, while the financials came in mixed.

For the day, the index eased 1.92 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 1,720.37 after trading between 1,712.66 and 1,726.88.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the trading day, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 385.38 points or 0.74 percent to finish at 52,224.64, while the NASDAQ advanced 329.13 points or 1.29 percent to end at 25,837.21 and the S&P 500 gained 65.92 points or 0.89 percent to close at 7,509.20.

A positive reaction to some of the latest earnings news inspired traders to pick up stocks such as 3M (MMM), General Motors (GM) and Novartis (NVS) at reduced levels.

Strength among technology stocks also contributed to the rally, as reflected by the jump by the tech-heavy NASDAQ, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index soaring 5.9 percent and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumping 5.2 percent.

Crude oil prices spiked on Tuesday as the U.S. attacked Iran for the 10th straight day, reinforcing supply concerns due to the Strait of Hormuz crisis. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $1.77 or 2.13 percent at $85.00 per barrel.