Malaysia Shares May Be Stuck In Neutral Again On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, giving back more than a dozen points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,600-point plateau and it's likely to remain steady in that neighborhood again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft ahead of the FOMC's interest rate decision later today. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion, although bargain hunting may take hold later in the day.

The KLCI finished modestly lower again on Tuesday following losses from the industrials and mixed performances from the financials, plantations and telecoms.

For the day, the index fell 9.52 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 1,597.33 after trading between 1,594.51 and 1,606.81.

Among the actives, Celcomdigi gained 0.28 percent, while CIMB Group shed 0.74 percent, Genting weakened 1.11 percent, Genting Malaysia sank 0.94 percent, IHH Healthcare lost 0.70 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong slid 0.28 percent, Maybank and Petronas Dagangan both perked 0.20 percent, MISC was up 0.13 percent, MRDIY skidded 1.10 percent, Nestle Malaysia stumbled 1.43 percent, Petronas Chemicals plummeted 4.02 percent, PPB Group eased 0.16 percent, Press Metal tanked 3.38 percent, Public Bank fell 0.44 percent, QL Resources rose 0.21 percent, RHB Bank slumped 1.22 percent, Sime Darby plunged 3.70 percent, SD Guthrie dropped 1.01 percent, Sunway tumbled 1.92 percent, Telekom Malaysia declined 1.34 percent, Tenaga Nasional added 0.58 percent, YTL Corporation retreated 1.40 percent, YTL Power dipped 0.27 percent and Axiata, Maxis and IOI Corporation 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.

The Dow tumbled 267.58 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 43,449.90, while the NASDAQ sank 64.83 points or 0.32 percent to close at 20,109.06 and the S&P 500 lost 23.47 points or 0.39 percent to end at 6,050.61.

The weakness on Wall Street reflected a pullback by technology stocks, which had led the way higher in the previous session - particularly among the networking and semiconductor stocks. Telecom, financial, housing and steel stocks also moved to the downside.

Meanwhile, traders continued to look ahead to the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy announcement later today. While the Fed is widely expected to lower rates by another quarter-point, traders will pay close attention to the Fed's statement and latest economic projections, including their forecasts for rates.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday amid concerns about the outlook for global demand, and possible excess supply in the market next year. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for January ended down $0.63 or 0.9 percent at $70.08 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will provide November data for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to rise 3.8 percent on year, up from 2.6 percent in October. Exports are seen higher by an annual 0.5 percent, easing from 1.6 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at MYR8.50 billion, down from MYR12.00 billion a month earlier.