The Malaysia stock market headed south again on Tuesday, one day after ending the three-day slide in which it had slumped more than 15 points or 1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,610-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with heavy damage expected among the technology shares. The European and U.S. markets were mixed to lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open under pressure.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares and telecoms, while the plantations were mixed.
For the day, the index sank 12.62 points or 0.78 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,611.94 after peaking at 1,629.37.
Among the actives, Axiata declined 1.23 percent, while CIMB Group dipped 0.41 percent, Genting fell 0.64 percent, Genting Malaysia was down 0.39 percent, IHH Healthcare shed 0.80 percent, IOI Corporation added 0.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 0.87 percent, Maybank slumped 1.18 percent, MISC eased 0.12 percent, MRDIY slid 0.48 percent, Nestle Malaysia plunged 3.56 percent, Petronas Chemicals gained 0.17 percent, Petronas Dagangan rose 0.12 percent, PPB Group tumbled 1.48 percent, Press Metal dropped 1.12 percent, Public Bank surrendered 1.42 percent, QL Resources rallied 1.21 percent, RHB Capital lost 0.70 percent, Sime Darby jumped 1.55 percent, SD Guthrie retreated 1.33 percent, Sunway skidded 1.15 percent, Telekom Malaysia sank 0.85 percent, YTL Corporation plummeted 4,21 percent, YTL Power tanked 2.95 percent and Celcomdigi, Maxis and Tenaga Nasional were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is mostly negative as the major averages opened slightly higher but quickly faded and finally finished mixed.
The Dow jumped 203.40 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 40,743.33, while the NASDAQ plummeted 222.79 points or 1.28 percent to close at 17,147.42 and the S&P 500 sank 27.10 points or 0.50 percent to end at 5,436.44.
The mixed performance on Wall Street came as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve\'s monetary policy announcement later today. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but the accompanying statement could have a significant impact on the outlook for the central bank\'s next decision in September.
The steep drop by the NASDAQ came as tech stocks came under pressure as the day progressed, weighed by the likes of Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
Among tech stocks, semiconductor stocks saw some of the worst performances, resulting in a 3.9 percent nosedive by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index slumped to its lowest closing level in well over two months.
Oil prices fell Tuesday amid continued concerns about the outlook for demand, and ahead of the Federal Reserve\'s monetary policy announcement and weekly inventory data later today. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for September ended down $1.08 or 1.42 percent at $74.73 a barrel.