Malaysia Shares May Take Further Damage On Wednesday

The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, slipping almost 5 points or 0.3 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just shy of the 1,455-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with technology and oil stocks likely to lead the way lower. The European and U.S. markets were mostly in the red and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished slightly lower again on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, telecoms and plantations.

For the day, the index eased 1.56 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 1,453.10 after trading between 1,446.36 and 1,453.56.

Among the actives, Axiata added 0.84 percent, while Celcomdigi rose 0.25 percent, CIMB Group fell 0.17 percent, Genting retreated 1.08 percent, Genting Malaysia shed 0.37 percent, IHH Healthcare slumped 0.66 percent, IOI Corporation gained 0.51 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong skidded 0.73 percent, Maxis declined 1.04 percent, Maybank collected 0.34 percent, Petronas Chemicals eased 0.14 percent, PPB Group tumbled 1.38 percent, Press Metal advanced 1.04 percent, Public Bank and Petronas Gas both lost 0.23 percent, Sime Darby rallied 1.28 percent, Sime Darby Plantations plunged 2.02 percent, Telekom Malaysia improved 0.90 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.60 percent, YTL Corporation jumped 1.59 percent, YTL Power climbed 1.18 percent and MISC, MRDIY, RHB Capital and QL Resources were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averaged opened lower on Tuesday and only the Dow was able to peek barely into positive territory by the session’s end.

The Dow rose 25.50 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 37,715.04, while the NASDAQ tumbled 245.41 points or 1.63 percent to end at 14,765.94 and the S&P 500 sank 27.00 points or 0.57 percent to close at 4,742.83.

The weakness in the broader markets came as traders continued to cash in on recent strength, particularly among technology stocks.

A steep drop by shares of Apple (AAPL) weighed on the tech sector, with the iPhone maker tumbling by 3.6 percent to its lowest closing level in well over a month after Barclays downgraded its rating on the company’s stock to Underweight from Equal Weight.

The price of crude oil couldn’t hold early gains and showed a substantial downturn on Tuesday over escalating Middle East tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery surged nearly $2 to a high of $73.64 a barrel early in the session but pulled back sharply to close down $1.27 or 1.8 percent at $70.38 a barrel.