Rebound Expected For Malaysia Stock Market

The Malaysia stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 5 points or 0.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,510-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on continued optimism for economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financials and mixed performances from the telecoms and plantations.

For the day, the index fell 4.20 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 1,507.04 after trading between 1,492.32 and 1,511.54. Volume was 8.746 billion shares worth 2.984 billion ringgit. There were 522 decliners and 423 gainers.

Among the actives, Hong Leong Financial plummeted 2.66 percent, while Malaysia Airports Holdings surged 2.57 percent, Petronas Chemicals soared 2.55 percent, Public Bank plunged 2.26 percent, IHH Healthcare tanked 1.63 percent, RHB Capital tumbled 1.46 percent, CIMB Group retreated 1.36 percent, AMMB Holdings declined 1.22 percent, Dialog Group spiked 1.11 percent, Sime Darby Plantations surrendered 1.00 percent, Axiata Group dropped 0.85 percent, Tenaga Nasional jumped 0.85 percent, Genting Malaysia sank 0.74 percent, Genting advanced 0.46 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong shed 0.27 percent, Top Glove added 0.26 percent, Digi.com lost 0.24 percent, IOI Corporation gained 0.23 percent, PPB Group and Press Metal both rose 0.22 percent, Maxis increased 0.19 percent, Hartalega Holdings was up 0.17 percent, Maybank and MISC both eased 0.13 percent and Sime Darby was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as stocks opened higher on Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the day, extending gains from the previous session.

The Dow added 131.14 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 26,156.10, while the NASDAQ jumped 74.89 points or 0.74 percent to end at 10,131.37 and the S&P 500 rose 13.43 points or 0.43 percent to close at 3,131.29.

Apple (AAPL) helped to lead the Nasdaq higher, jumping by 2.1 percent to a new record high as traders reacted positively to news out of the tech giant's Worldwide Developers Conference.

In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing a substantial increase in new home sales in the month of May.

Crude oil prices edged lower Tuesday as worries about energy demand resurfaced amid reports showing a sharp surge in coronavirus cases across several states in America. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended down $0.36 or 0.9 percent at $40.37 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will provide May data for consumer prices later today; in April, inflation was down 2.7 percent on month and 2.9 percent on year.