The Malaysia stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one day after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 10 points or 0.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,630-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat with a touch of downside ahead of earnings news and economic data later this week. The European and U.S. markets were slightly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.
The KLCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, weakness from the telecoms and a mixed performance from the plantation stocks.
For the day, the index added 7.71 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 1,629.68 after trading between 1,625.23 and 1,632.50.
Among the actives, Axiata slumped 1.19 percent, while Celcomdigi increased 0.54 percent, CIMB Group and SD Guthrie both strengthened 1.12 percent, Genting gathered 0.21 percent, Genting Malaysia rose 0.39 percent, IHH Healthcare advanced 0.80 percent, IOI Corporation added 0.52 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong tumbled 2.43 percent, Maxis jumped 1.42 percent, Maybank gained 0.40 percent, MISC climbed 1.06 percent, MRDIY plummeted 3.37 percent, Petronas Chemicals rallied 2.17 percent, PPB Group dropped 0.94 percent, Press Metal skidded 1.10 percent, Public Bank collected 0.24 percent, QL Resources lost 0.45 percent, Sime Darby improved 0.76 percent, Sunway soared 3.88 percent, Telekom Malaysia sank 0.57 percent, YTL Corporation surged 4.60 percent, YTL Power spiked 2.95 percent and Tenaga Nasional, RHB Capital and Petronas Dagangan were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street ends up soft as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and spent almost the entire session in the green before a late slump dropped them barely into negative territory.
The Dow shed 57.35 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 40,358.09, while the NASDAQ dipped 10.22 points or 0.06 percent to close at 17.997.35 and the S&P 500 fell 8.70 points or 0.16 percent to end at 5,555.71.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the outlook for the markets following recent volatility.
Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key earnings and economic news in the coming days.
Later in the week, focus is likely to shift to a report on personal income and spending in June, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.
Oil prices fell to near seven-week lows on Tuesday as investors brace for a likely drop in demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $1.44 or 1.83 percent at $76.96 a barrel, the lowest settlement since June 7.
Closer to home, Malaysia will release June figures for consumer prices later today; in May, inflation was up 0.3 percent on month and 2.0 percent on year.