(RTTNews) – The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, slipping almost 10 points or 0.7 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,525-point plateau although it’s due for support on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing tariff and trade war concerns. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were sharply higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday as losses from the financial shares and telecoms were mitigated by support from the plantation stocks.
For the day, the index shed 8.14 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 1,526.16 after trading between 1,521.93 and 1,535.41.
Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail was down 0.47 percent, while Axiata jumped 1.50 percent, Celcomdigi and PPB Group both dropped 0.52 percent, CIMB Group retreated 0.86 percent, Gamuda added 0.22 percent, IHH Healthcare eased 0.14 percent, IOI Corporation climbed 1.09 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong soared 2.83 percent, Maxis plunged 3.49 percent, Maybank declined 0.71 percent, MISC shed 0.27 percent, MRDIY tumbled 1.25 percent, Nestle Malaysia rallied 2.39 percent, Petronas Dagangan surged 3.66 percent, Petronas Gas perked 0.11 percent, Public Bank slumped 0.68 percent, QL Resources lost 0.22 percent, RHB Bank sank 0.44 percent, Sime Darby plummeted 12.62 percent, SD Guthrie fell 0.21 percent, Telekom Malaysia skidded 0.58 percent, YTL Corporation stumbled 2.19 percent, YTL Power tanked 3.40 percent and Petronas Chemicals, Press Metal, Sunway and Tenaga Nasional were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened in the green and continued to accelerate as the day progressed.
The Dow spiked 740.58 points or 1.78 percent to finish at 42,343.65, while the NASDAQ surged 461.96 points or 2.47 percent to close at 19,199.16 and the S&P 500 jumped 118.72 points or 2.05 percent to end at 5,921.54.
The rally on Wall Street came after President Donald Trump announced he is delaying a threatened 50 percent tariff on imports from the European Union.
The move by Trump came as analysts previously suggested the threatened tariff on the EU was just a negotiating tactic and not where the eventual rate will wind up.
Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to a report released by the Conference Board showing a substantial improvement by U.S. consumer confidence in the month of May.
Crude oil prices slumped on Tuesday on continuing concerns that OPEC may boost output at its meeting later today. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery dropped 0.65 or 1 percent to $64.09 per barrel.
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