Malaysia Stock Market Expected To Open Under Pressure

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday halted the five-day slide in which it had surrendered almost 50 points or 3.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,460-point plateau although it may head south again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative ahead of the FOMC's rate decision later today. The European and U.S. markets finished firmly in the red and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index gained 9.58 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 1,461.10 after trading between 1,454.42 and 1,465.58. Volume was 2.116 billion shares worth 1.648 billion ringgit. There were 415 gainers and 385 decliners.

Among the actives, Axiata shed 0.35 percent, while CIMB Group advanced 1.11 percent, Dialog Group and Genting both added 0.45 percent, Digi.com strengthened 1.16 percent, Genting Malaysia improved 0.70 percent, Hartalega Holdings skyrocketed 3.36 percent, IHH Healthcare lost 0.32 percent, INARI climbed 1.12 percent, IOI Corporation gained 0.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong was up 0.09 percent, Maybank collected 0.81 percent, Maxis spiked 1.92 percent, MISC rose 0.14 percent, MRDIY gathered 0.49 percent, Petronas Chemicals jumped 1.28 percent, PPB Group perked 0.24 percent, Press Metal perked 0.23 percent, RHB Capital increased 0.53 percent, Sime Darby soared 2.27 percent, Sime Darby Plantations accelerated 1.60 percent, Telekom Malaysia surged 3.11 percent, Tenaga Nasional rallied 1.27 percent and Top Glove, Public Bank, Hong Leong Financial and Nestle were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened in the red on Tuesday and held their negative bias throughout the session.

The Dow plunged 313.45 points or 1.01 percent to finish at 30,706.23, while the NASDAQ sank 109.97 points or 0.95 percent to end at 11,425.05 and the S&P 500 tumbled 43.96 points or 1.13 percent to close at 3,855.93.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders were jittery ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision later today. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points, although some see an outside chance for a 100-point rate hike.

Treasury yields saw further upside ahead of the Fed announcement, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note jumping to a new 11-year high.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported an unexpected spike in new residential construction in the U.S. in August, although the report also showed a steeper than expected slump in building permits.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday amid concerns about interest rate hikes and worries about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for October ended lower by $1.28 or 1.5 percent at $84.45 a barrel on expiration day.