Malaysia Shares Called Rangebound Again On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market inched higher again on Wednesday, one day after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 25 points or 1.5 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,685-point plateau although it may head south again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative thanks to renewed hostilities in the Middle East. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Wednesday as gains from the financials were capped by weakness from the telecoms and a mixed picture from the plantation stocks.

For the day, the index perked 0.68 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 1,683.61 after trading between 1,679.30 and 1,690.57.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages spent most of the day in the red before finally ending the session mixed.

The Dow tumbled 576.76 points or 1.09 percent to finish at 52,348.39, while the NASDAQ rose 51.96 points or 0.20 percent to close at 25,870.65 and the S&P 500 slipped 21.14 points or 0.28 percent to end at 7,482.71.

The early weakness on Wall Street came amid concerns about a re-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East after President Donald Trump declared the U.S.-Iran ceasefire "over."

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Wednesday amid renewed Middle East tensions after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fresh strikes. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $3.16 or 4.49 percent at $73.60 per barrel.

However, stocks regained ground over the course of the session as crude oil prices pullback off their highs of the session.

Housing stocks moved sharply lower on concerns about the outlook for interest rates, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 3.8 percent. Substantial weakness was also visible among gold stocks, which tumbled along with the price of the precious metal.

Closer to home, the Malaysian central bank will wrap up its monetary policy meeting later today and then announce its decision on interest rates; the central bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 2.75 percent.

Malaysia also will release May figures for industrial production, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 9.5 percent on year - up from 8.2 percent in April.