Shutterstock photo(RTTNews.com) – The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in three consecutive trading days, sliding more than 20 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,735-point plateau and it may take further damage on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking expected after showing strength earlier in the week. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares and the plantation stocks.
Among the actives, Sime Darby plummeted 2.84 percent, while Genting plunged 2.75 percent, Genting Malaysia tumbled 2.53 percent, IOI Corporation dropped 1.59 percent, YTL Corporation skidded 1.54 percent, IHH Healthcare spiked 1.03 percent, Public Bank retreated 0.97 percent, CIMB Group shed 0.64 percent, Petronas Chemicals climbed 0.54 percent, Tenaga Nasional lost 0.27 percent, Petronas Gas fell 0.24 percent and Maybank dipped 0.11 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks gave ground on Tuesday after climbing to record highs in the previous session.
The Dow dipped 37.45 points or 0.15 percent to 24,754.75, while the NASDAQ slid 30.91 points or 0.44 percent to 6,963.85 and the S&P 500 fell 8.69 points or 0.32 percent to 2,681.47.
Profit taking contributed to the weakness on Wall Street, as traders cashed in on the strength seen in recent sessions. Selling pressure was subdued, however, as House Republicans voted to approve the first major tax reform legislation in decades.
The approval of the legislation comes even though recent polls show a majority of Americans disapprove of the bill. Republicans claim that the bill will lead to stronger economic growth, while Democrats argue the legislation will give tax cuts to the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.
In economic news, the Commerce Department noted an unexpected increase in housing starts in November. Housing starts jumped 3.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.297 million in November from a revised 1.256 million in October. Economists had expected housing starts to drop by 3.7 percent.
Crude oil futures nudged higher Tuesday amid mixed signals on global production next year. OPEC says it will continue to curb production in an effort to re-balance oil markets, but U.S. shale output may surge. WTI light sweet crude oil was up 31 cents at $57.47 a barrel.
Closer to home, Malaysia will see November figures for consumer prices later today; in October, inflation was down 0.2 percent on month and up 3.7 percent on year.
For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com
阅读更多