Ahead of Tuesday's holiday for Eid-ul-Adha, the Malaysia stock market has ended the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 10 points or 0.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,520-point plateau and it's likely in store for a wild ride on Wednesday as it also catches up on missed sentiment.
The global forecast for the Asian is broadly positive, with bargain hunting expected for the oversold bourses. A spike in crude oil prices is also expected to provide support. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow suit.
The KLCI finished slightly lower on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks and glove makers.
For the day, the index slipped 2.51 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 1,519.97 after trading between 1,518.73 and 1,533.80. Volume was 4.822 billion shares worth 3.435 billion ringgit. There were 511 gainers and 456 decliners.
Among the actives, CIMB Group and Hartalega Holdings both added 0.66 percent, while Dialog Group rose 0.35 percent, Digi.com plunged 1.18 percent, Genting and Top Glove both tumbled 1.01 percent, Genting Malaysia retreated 0.70 percent, IHH Healthcare jumped 1.05 percent, IOI Corporation sank 0.54 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 0.40 percent, Maybank fell 0.25 percent, Maxis shed 0.46 percent, MISC was up 0.15 percent, MRDIY soared 1.75 percent, Petronas Chemicals declined 0.62 percent, Press Metal tanked 1.03 percent, Public Bank dropped 0.49 percent, RHB Capital was down 0.19 percent, Sime Darby skidded 0.92 percent, Sime Darby Plantations surged 2.50 percent, Telekom Malaysia plummeted 1.31 percent, Tenaga Nasional gained 0.62 percent and Axiata, PPB Group and Nestle were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened in the green on Tuesday and continued to pick up steam as the session progressed, ending firmly higher.
The Dow jumped 549.95 points or 1.62 percent to finish at 34,511.99, while the NASDAQ spiked 223.89 points or 1.57 percent to end at 14,498.88 and the S&P 500 gained 64.57 points or 1.52 percent to close at 4,323.06.
The rebound on Wall Street came as traders picked up stocks at reduced levels after the steep drop on Monday dragged the major averages down to their lowest levels in almost a month.
A positive reaction to the latest earnings news also contributed to the rally, fueled by IBM Corp. (IBM), HCA Healthcare (HCA), Halliburton (HAL) and J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT), among others.
In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a substantial increase in new residential construction in June, although building permits were down.
Crude oil futures rebounded on bargain hunting on Tuesday, even amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand and possible oversupply in the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September, the new front month contract, ended up $0.85 or 1.3 percent at $67.20 a barrel.
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