Steady Start Anticipated For Malaysia Shares

The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, slipping almost 8 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,445-point plateau although it may find its footing on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat ahead of key U.S. inflation data later today. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets expect to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following weakness from the telecoms and mixed performances from the financial shares and plantations.

For the day, the index slipped 1.95 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 1,446.07 after trading between 1,445.61 and 1,450.42.

Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 2.13 percent, while Celcomdigi sank 0.48 percent, CIMB Group skidded 0.70 percent, Dialog Group slumped 0.96 percent, Genting added 0.64 percent, Genting Malaysia lost 0.37 percent, IHH Healthcare dipped 0.17 percent, Maxis declined 1.76 percent, Maybank was down 0.11 percent, MRDIY retreated 1.90 percent, PPB Group dropped 0.57 percent, Press Metal advanced 0.82 percent, Public Bank collected 0.47 percent, RHB Capital fell 0.36 percent, Sime Darby Plantations climbed 0.89 percent, Telekom Malaysia shed 0.38 percent, Tenaga Nasional eased 0.10 percent, Westports Holdings slid 0.28 percent and Petronas Chemicals, Petronas Gas, MISC, IOI Corporation, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Sime Darby, AMMB Holdings and QL Resources were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday but faded as the day progressed, ending mixed and little changed.

The Dow rose 13.44 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 35,430.42, while the NASDAQ slid 23.27 points or 0.16 percent to close at 14,258.49 and the S&P 500 dipped 4.31 points or 0.09 percent to end at 4,550.58.

Stocks saw early strength amid ongoing optimism about the outlook for interest rates, also riding a surge by shares of General Motors (GM) after the auto giant announced a $10 billion stock buyback and increased dividend.

Buying interest waned as the day has progress, however, with traders looking ahead to the release of key inflation readings later today.

Crude oil showed another strong move to the upside on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session ahead of a key OPEC meeting later today. West Texas Intermediate for January delivery jumped $1.45 or 1.9 percent to $77.86 a barrel.