Malaysia Stock Market May Head South Again On Wednesday

The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day slide in which it had eased not quite 3 points. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,460-point plateau although it’s likely to see renewed selling pressure on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation, thanks to renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were firmly lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the plantations and mixed performances from the financials and telecoms.

For the day, the index added 5.99 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 1,458.67 after trading between 1,452.64 and 1,461.42.

Among the actives, Axiata improved 1.28 percent, while CIMB Group and Petronas Gas both lost 0.72 percent, Dialog Group soared 3.90 percent, Digi.com tumbled 2.32 percent, Genting gained 0.21 percent, Genting Malaysia sank 0.74 percent, IHH Healthcare advanced 1.02 percent, INARI increased 0.82 percent, IOI Corporation rallied 2.05 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong spiked 2.17 percent, Maybank dipped 0.12 percent, Maxis rose 0.25 percent, MISC slid 0.40 percent, MRDIY jumped 1.80 percent, Petronas Chemicals dropped 0.82 percent, Press Metal climbed 1.17 percent, Public Bank collected 0.73 percent, RHB Capital strengthened 1.42 percent, Sime Darby retreated 1.34 percent, Sime Darby Plantations surged 4.88 percent, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.60 percent, Tenaga Nasional added 0.43 percent and PPB Group and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened flat on Tuesday but quickly turned lower, finishing near daily lows.

The Dow plunged 574.98 points or 1.72 percent to finish at 32,856.46, while the NASDAQ sank 145.41 points or 1.25 percent to end at 11,530.33 and the S&P 500 dropped 62.05 points or 1.53 percent to close at 3,986.37.

The sell-off on Wall Street reflected a negative reaction to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated semiannual monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.

Citing stubbornly elevated inflation and stronger than expected economic data, Powell told lawmakers the “ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated.”

Powell also said the Fed would be prepared to reaccelerate the pace of rate hikes and for a longer period if incoming data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted.

Crude oil prices tumbled Tuesday on renewed uncertainty about energy demand, while a surging greenback also weighed on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April slumped $2.88 or 3.6 percent at $77.58 a barrel.

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