Losing Streak May Continue For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking almost 10 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,450-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on persistent concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the plantations and industrials were mitigated by support from the financials and telecoms.

For the day, the index slipped 5.13 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 1,449.53 after trading between 1,448.45 and 1,455.12.

Among the actives, Axiata gained 0.32 percent, while CIMB Group skidded 1.26 percent, Dialog Group jumped 1.68 percent, Digi.com rose 0.24 percent, Genting slid 0.43 percent, Genting Malaysia was down 0.37 percent, IHH Healthcare and AMMB Holdings both lost 0.50 percent, INARI and QL Resources both dropped 1.20 percent, IOI Corporation slumped 1.77 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong sank 1.05 percent, Maybank added 0.46 percent, Maxis climbed 0.75 percent, MISC slipped 0.27 percent, MRDIY retreated 1.78 percent, Petronas Chemicals shed 0.83 percent, PPB Group advanced 0.71 percent, Press Metal plunged 1.92 percent, Public Bank improved 0.49 percent, RHB Capital collected 0.53 percent, Sime Darby fell 0.46 percent and Sime Darby Plantations plummeted 3.80 percent Telekom Malaysia declined 1.79 percent and Tenaga Nasional perked 0.21 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday and hugged the line before plummeting in afternoon trade, finishing near session lows.

The Dow plunged 543.54 points or 1.66 percent to finish at 32,254.86, while the NASDAQ tumbled 237.65 points or 2.05 percent to close at 11,338.35 and the S&P 500 sank 73.69 points or 1.85 percent to end at 3,918.32.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street followed the Labor Department report the showed initial jobless claims rose by more than expected last week, although the data helped ease concerns about labor market tightness.

Buying interest tumbled as the day progressed as traders looked ahead to the release of the Labor Department's more closely watched monthly jobs report later today. The report could have a significant effect on the pace of interest rate hikes as determined by the FOMC.

Crude oil prices retreated on Thursday, extending losses to a third straight day amid concerns that aggressive policy tightening by the Federal Reserve could slow global economic growth and result in a drop in energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $0.94 or 1.2 percent at $75.72 a barrel.