Rally May Stall On Wednesday For Malaysia Shares

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, collecting almost 15 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,620-point plateau although it's likely to run out of steam on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns that technology shares may be over bought. The European and U.S. markets were firmly under water and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the plantation stocks and industrials.

For the day, the index rose 1.08 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 1,623.50 after trading between 1,621.22 and 1,630.91. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail gained 0.32 percent, while AMMB Holdings climbed 1.04 percent, Celcomdigi rose 0.27 percent, CIMB Group soared 1.75 percent, Gamuda slumped 0.98 percent, IHH Healthcare lost 0.84 percent, IOI Corporation fell 0.74 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rallied 1.06 percent, Maxis was up 0.26 percent, Nestle Malaysia eased 0.18 percent, Petronas Chemicals plummeted 3.56 percent, Petronas Dagangan added 0.36 percent, Petronas Gas advanced 0.87 percent, PPB Group surged 1.77 percent, Press Metal dropped 0.94 percent, Public Bank collected 0.47 percent, QL Resources improved 0.71 percent, RHB Bank spiked 1.17 percent, Sime Darby skidded 0.97 percent, SD Guthrie sank 0.93 percent, Sunway shed 0.91 percent, Tenaga Nasional slipped 0.30 percent, YTL Corporation retreated 1.56 percent, YTL Power stumbled 1.76 percent and Maybank, MISC, MRDIY, Telekom Malaysia and Axiata were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained in the red throughout the trading day, ending near session lows.

The Dow dropped 251.44 points of 0.53 percent to finish at 47,085.24, while the NASDAQ plummeted 486.09 points or 2.04 percent to close at 23,348.64 and the S&P 500 sank 80.42 points or 1.17 percent to end at 6,771.55.

The sell-off on Wall Street came amid concerns about the valuations of tech stocks, which have helped lead the markets to record highs amid optimism about artificial intelligence.

The weakness on Wall Street also came as Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO David Solomon warned of a significant correction by the equity markets over the next 1-2 years.

Crude oil prices declined sharply on Tuesday due to excess supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was down $0.44 or 0.72 percent at $60.61 per barrel.