Malaysia Shares Tipped To Open To The Upside On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day slide in which it had fallen almost 15 points or 0.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,710-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside ahead of the U.S. monetary policy announcement later today. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials, industrials and telecoms, while the plantations were soft.

For the day, the index added 14.43 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 1,710.99 after trading between 1,701.19 and 1,713.25. Among the actives, AMMB Holdings rallied 1.69 percent, while Axiata rose 0.44 percent, Celcomdigi tumbled 1.57 percent, CIMB Group improved 0.77 percent, Gamuda added 0.48 percent, IHH Healthcare gained 0.45 percent, IOI Corporation increased 0.50 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.10 percent, Maybank collected 1.05 percent, MISC climbed 0.84 percent, MRDIY spiked 2.48 percent, Nestle Malaysia slumped 1.27 percent, Petronas Chemicals skyrocketed 8.08 percent, Petronas Dagangan perked 0.09 percent, PPB Group accelerated 2.33 percent, Press Metal fell 0.13 percent, Public Bank vaulted 1.25 percent, QL Resources gathered 0.27 percent, RHB Bank strengthened 1.21 percent, Sime Darby expanded 0.86 percent, SD Guthrie dropped 0.86 percent, Sunway jumped 1.94 percent, Telekom Malaysia advanced 0.81 percent, Tenaga Nasional was up 0.14 percent, YTL Corporation surged 4.22 percent, YTL Power soared 3.61 percent and 99 Speed Mart Retail, Maxis and Petronas Gas were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the day, although off session highs.

The Dow added 46.85 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 46,993.26, while the NASDAQ climbed 105.35 points or 0.47 percent to end at 22,479.53 and the S&P 500 added 16.71 points or 0.25 percent to close at 6,716.09.

The early strength on Wall Street came as traders attempted to shrug off the recent volatility shown by the price of crude oil, which has been a key driver of trading in recent sessions.

Crude oil prices surged Tuesday as Iran stepped up its attack on energy infrastructure in the Middle East in its war against the U.S. and Israel. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was up $2.57 or 2.75 percent at $96.07 per barrel.

The Israeli military also said it had begun a "wide-scale wave of strikes" across Iran's capital and was also stepping up strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Traders were also reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to central bank officials' latest projections.