Malaysia Bourse Tipped To End Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking almost 20 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,535-point plateau although it's due for support on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on increased optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday as losses from the telecoms and financial shares were offset by support from the plantation stocks.

For the day, the index shed 9.17 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 1,535.79 after trading between 1,535.77 and 1,546.00.

Among the actives, Axiata increased 0.36 percent, while Celcomdigi fell 0.47 percent, CIMB Group tumbled 1.97 percent, Genting and Hong Leong Bank both shed 0.62 percent, Genting Malaysia retreated 1.08 percent, IHH Healthcare slid 0.33 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong improved 0.46 percent, Maxis rose 0.57 percent, Maybank dropped 0.83 percent, MISC declined 1.05 percent, Petronas Chemicals gathered 0.29 percent, Petronas Gas advanced 0.80 percent, PPB Group gained 0.64 percent, Press Metal perked 0.22 percent, Public Bank skidded 0.93 percent, QL Resources was up 0.17 percent, RHB Capital lost 0.53 percent, Sime Darby stumbled 1.14 percent, Sime Darby Plantations added 0.70 percent, Telekom Malaysia slumped 1.00 percent, YTL Corporation sank 0.74 percent, YTL Power eased 0.23 percent and IOI Corporation, MRDIY and Tenaga Nasional were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened flat on Wednesday and spent most of the day that way before a late surge boosted them firmly into the green and to record closing highs.

The Dow surged 401.37 points or 1.03 percent to finish at 39,512.13, while the NASDAQ rallied 202.62 points or 1.25 percent to end at 16,369.41 and the S&P 500 gained 46.11 points or 0.89 percent to close at 5,224.62.

The rally on Wall Street came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged but also maintained its forecast for three rate cuts this year - which had been in some doubt.

The Fed said it again maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.25 to 5.50 percent, but the latest projections suggest Fed officials expect rates to be lowered to a range of 4.50 to 4.75 percent by the end of 2024.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday as traders chose to take some profits following recent gains, while a firm dollar also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April slumped $1.79 or 2.1 percent at $81.68 a barrel.