Rebound Anticipated For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market turned lower again on Wednesday, one day after ending 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 1,745-point plateau although it may bounce higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes for an end to the hostilities in the Middle East. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets are also expected to track to the upside.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday as the industrials, financials and plantations were mostly in the red.

For the day, the index dipped 4.25 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 1,746.31 after trading between 1,742.41 and 1,752.64. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail retreated 1.77 percent, while AMMB Holdings shed 0.77 percent, Axiata tumbled 2.21 percent, Celcomdigi climbed 1.00 percent, CIMB Group rose 0.25 percent, Gamuda rallied 2.65 percent, IHH Healthcare fell 0.44 percent, IOI Corporation contracted 1.41 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong added 0.29 percent, Maxis sank 0.83 percent, Maybank lost 0.53 percent, MISC dropped 0.97 percent, MRDIY tanked 2.45 percent, Nestle Malaysia eased 0.10 percent, Petronas Chemicals was down 0.18 percent, Petronas Dagangan surged 3.84 percent, Petronas Gas dipped 0.22 percent, PPB Group advanced 0.73 percent, Press Metal improved 0.67 percent, Public Bank collected 0.83 percent, Sime Darby slumped 1.36 percent, SD Guthrie declined 1.64 percent, Sunway skidded 1.09 percent, Sunway Healthcare gained 0.54 percent, Telekom Malaysia stumbled 1.82 percent, Tenaga Nasional slipped 0.41 percent, YTL Corporation plummeted 3.88 percent, YTL Power plunged 3.07 percent and RHB Bank as unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed to higher as the major averages opened mixed but trended higher throughout the session, finally finishing mixed.

The Dow shed 67.36 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 49,693.20, while the NASDAQ rallied 314.14 points of 1.20 percent to end at a record 26,402.34 and the S&P 500 gained 43.29 points or 0.58 percent to close at 7,444.25, also a record.

The mixed performance on Wall Street followed the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. shot up much more than expected in April, marking the largest jump since March 2022.

Following the data, interest rate-sensitive utilities and housing stocks showed significant moves to the downside on the day.

The rally by the NASDAQ reflected substantial strength among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.6 percent surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Crude oil prices pulled back on Wednesday as the upcoming negotiations between the presidents of the U.S. and China have increased expectations of an end to the U.S.-Iran standoff despite OPEC and IEA oil forecast reports warning of a supply-demand mismatch. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was down $1.04 or 1.02 percent at $101.14 per barrel.