Ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays on Wednesday and Thursday, the Malaysia stock market had ended the three-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 25 points or 1.5 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,555-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic thanks to easing Treasury yields. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.
For the day, the index lost 6.47 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 1,553.51 after trading between 1,553.43 and 1,565.57.
Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 1.13 percent, while Celcomdigi added 0.24 percent, CIMB Group retreated 1.05 percent, Genting fell 0.21 percent, Genting Malaysia dropped 0.74 percent, IHH Healthcare sank 0.66 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.09 percent, Maxis plunged 1.40 percent, Maybank shed 0.62 percent, MISC slid 0.13 percent, Petronas Chemicals lost 0.29 percent, Press Metal slumped 0.96 percent, QL Resources rallied 0.99 percent, RHB Capital rose 0.17 percent, Sime Darby jumped 1.10 percent, Tenaga Nasional tanked 1.19 percent, YTL Corporation and YTL Power both skidded 0.75 percent and Public Bank, MRDIY, IOI Corporation, Sime Darby Plantations, Telekom Malaysia, PPB Group and Nestle Malaysia were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is fairly positive as the major averages shook off early weakness and climbed well into the green, although the Dow failed late and ended in the red.
The Dow eased 2.43 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 38,459.08, while the NASDAQ surged 271.84 points or 1.68 percent to end at 16,442.20 and the S&P 500 added 38.42 points or 0.74 percent to close at 5,199.06.
The rally by the NASDAQ and S&P 500 seemed to coincide with the release of the results of the Treasury Department\'s auction of $22 billion worth of 30-year bonds, which saw average demand.
Treasury yields pulled back off their highs following the release of the results, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note giving ground. The Treasury revealed below average demand for this month\'s three-year and 10-year note auctions earlier in the week.
In economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing producer prices increased in line with estimates in March.
Crude oil prices dropped from five-month highs on Thursday amid concerns the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for a longer period due to inflationary pressures. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May ended down by $1.19 at $85.02 a barrel.