Malaysia Bourse May See Mild Upside On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has tracked lower in consecutive trading days, slipping more than a dozen points or 0.6 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,745-point plateau although it may tick higher again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed with a touch of upside as ambiguity continues to reign in the Middle East. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The KLCI finished slightly lower on Monday following losses from the industrials and telecoms, while the plantations and financials were mixed. For the day, the index dipped 2.75 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 1,745.31 after trading between 1,744.99 and 1,754.00. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail fell 0.59 percent, while AMMB Holdings dipped 0.31 percent, Axiata stumbled 1.72 percent, Celcomdigi contracted 0.99 percent, Gamuda rose 0.22 percent, IHH Healthcare and Maxis both gained 0.56 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong slumped 0.94 percent, MISC dropped 0.85 percent, MRDIY lost 0.60 percent, Nestle Malaysia declined 1.36 percent, Petronas Chemicals slipped 0.37 percent, Petronas Dagangan plunged 2.28 percent, PPB Group retreated 1.43 percent, Press Metal jumped 1.38 percent, Public Bank shed 0.61 percent, RHB Bank eased 0.24 percent, Sime Darby tumbled 1.79 percent, SD Guthrie added 0.66 percent, Sunway vaulted 1.29 percent, Telekom Malaysia was down 0.26 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.67 percent, YTL Corporation surged 2.65 percent, YTL Power climbed 1.20 percent and CIMB Group, Maybank, Petronas Gas, IOI Corporation and QL Resources were unchanged. The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened mixed on Monday and largely hugged the line throughout the session, finishing with slight gains.

The Dow climbed 95.31 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 49,704.47, while the NASDAQ added 27.05 points or 0.10 percent to close at a record 26,274.13 and the S&P 500 rose 13.19 points or 0.19 percent to end at 7,412.84, also a record.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent strength.

Crude oil futures surged after President Donald Trump rejected Iran's response to a U.S. proposal to end the months-long war, calling it "totally unacceptable" in a post on Truth Social. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $3.33 or 3.49 percent at $98.75 per barrel.

Trump later told reporters the U.S.-Iran ceasefire is on "life support" amid the ongoing dispute, describing the state of the truce "unbelievably weak."

However, U.S. markets have recently been able to shrug off concerns about the impact of the Middle East conflict amid upbeat earnings news. Closer to home, Malaysia will provide March numbers for unemployment later today; in February, the jobless rate was 2.9 percent.