The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, sinking more than 35 points or 2.1 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,600-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian is upbeat on hopes for improved coronavirus vaccine rollout and additional stimulus. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the glove makers and financial shares.
For the day, the index fell 7.64 points or 0.47 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,601.88 after peaking at 1,618.41. Volume was 6.806 billion shares worth 4.829 billion ringgit. There were 625 decliners and 496 gainers.
Among the actives, Supermax plummeted 5.09 percent, while Telekom Malaysia surged 3.99 percent, Top Glove plunged 3.31 percent, Petronas Chemicals soared 3.16 percent, Axiata tanked 2.47 percent, Hartalega Holdings tumbled 1.29 percent, Genting spiked 0.95 percent, Tenaga Nasional skidded 0.79 percent, MISC jumped 0.77 percent, RHB Capital retreated 0.57 percent, IHH Healthcare declined 0.56 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong surrendered 0.50 percent, Sime Darby sank 0.44 percent, PPB Group dropped 0.42 percent, Genting Malaysia shed 0.41 percent, Public Bank lost 0.38 percent, Dialog Group fell 0.31 percent, Maybank rose 0.25 percent, Press Metal dipped 0.23 percent and Sime Darby Plantations, Maxis, CIMB Group, IOI Corporation, Digi.com and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks opened higher on Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the session, butting into last week's losses.
The Dow added 116.26 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 30,930.52, while the NASDAQ spiked 198.68 points or 1.53 percent to end at 13,197.18 and the S&P 500 gained 30.66 points or 0.81 percent to close at 3,798.91.
The markets benefited from continued optimism about additional stimulus as well as a faster rollout of coronavirus vaccines under incoming President Joe Biden, who is set to take office later today.
Traders kept an eye on remarks from Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen, who called for additional stimulus to address the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, arguing the government needs to act big.
In corporate news, a drop by shares of Goldman Sachs (GS) limited the upside for the Dow after the financial giant slumped by 2.3 percent despite reporting better than expected Q4 results. Bank of America (BAC) also sank after reporting better than expected Q4 earnings but missed on revenue.
Crude oil prices rose Tuesday, riding the dollar's weakness and expectations of more economic stimulus in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended up $0.62 or 1.2 percent at $52.98 a barrel.
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