Renewed Selling Pressure Expected For Malaysia Shares

The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday snapped the three-day losing streak in which it had fallen almost 10 points or 0.6 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,460-point plateau although it’s likely to head south again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on profit taking and weak retail earnings. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index added 6.48 points or 0.44 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,463.40 after moving between 1,456.16.

Among the actives, Celcomdigi tumbled 1.86 percent, while CIMB Group rose 0.35 percent, Genting soared 2.31 percent, Genting Malaysia improved 0.78 percent, IHH Healthcare slumped 0.67 percent, IOI Corporation rallied 1.77 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong retreated 1.73 percent, Maxis fell 0.24 percent, MISC added 0.55 percent, MRDIY plunged 2.48 percent, Petronas Chemicals surged 2.50 percent, PPB Group dropped 0.82 percent, Press Metal spiked 2.28 percent, Public Bank jumped 1.43 percent, Sime Darby Plantations strengthened 1.37 percent, Telekom Malaysia advanced 0.96 percent, Tenaga Nasional gained 0.50 percent, Westports Holdings climbed 1.16 percent and Axiata, Dialog Group, Maybank, RHB Capital, Sime Darby, Petronas Gas and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow dropped 62.75 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 35,088.29, while the NASDAQ tumbled 84.55 points or 0.59 percent to end at 14,199.98 and the S&P 500 fell 9.19 points or 0.20 percent to close at 4,538.19.

The pullback on Wall Street came as some traders looked to cash in on the recent strength in the markets, which has lifted the major averages to their best levels in over three months.

A negative reaction to some of the latest earnings news from major retailers also weighed on Wall Street, with disappointing results from the likes of American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), Kohl’s (KSS), Lowe’s (LOW) and Best Buy (BBY).

The markets did not show much reaction to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting, which said Fed officials expect to keep interest rates at a restrictive level for “some time.”

Crude oil futures settled slightly lower Tuesday ahead of this weekend’s OPEC meeting as investors wait to see if more production cuts may be in store. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January eased $0.06 at $77.77 a barrel.