Malaysia Bourse May Extend Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, slipping more than a dozen points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,450-point plateau and it may take further damage on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the plantation stocks and telecoms, while the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index fell 5.33 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 1,452.27 after trading between 1,450.64 and 1,457.84.

Among the actives, Celcomdigi skidded 0.70 percent, while CIMB Group rose 0.17 percent, Dialog Group slumped 0.94 percent, Genting fell 0.24 percent, Genting Malaysia stumbled 0.80 percent, IHH Healthcare retreated 1.00 percent, IOI Corporation lost 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong sank 0.55 percent, Maxis plunged 1.71 percent, MISC tumbled 1.37 percent, MRDIY jumped 1.27 percent, Petronas Chemicals tanked 1.50 percent, PPB Group declined 1.36 percent, Sime Darby added 0.42 percent, Sime Darby Plantations dropped 0.69 percent, Telekom Malaysia shed 0.38 percent, Tenaga Nasional eased 0.20 percent, Westports Holdings rallied 1.20 percent and Press Metal, Public Bank, RHB Capital, Axiata and Maybank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened flat on Thursday and hugged the line for the first half of the day before turning lower to end solidly in the red.

The Dow stumbled 220.33 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 33,891.94, while the NASDAQ sank 128.97 points or 0.94 percent to end at 13,521.45 and the S&P 500 lost 35.43 points or 0.81 percent to close at 4,347.35.

Stocks showed a notable drop in early afternoon trading after the Treasury Department revealed this month's auction of $24 billion worth of 30-year bonds attracted below average demand, triggering a surge in treasury yields.

The markets saw further downside as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell addressed the outlook for U.S. monetary policy, saying the central bank "will not hesitate" to resume raising interest rates if it becomes appropriate.

Participating in a policy panel in Washington, D.C., Powell acknowledged that U.S. inflation has slowed over the past year but pointed out it remains well above the Fed's 2 percent target.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday after two straight sessions of decline on concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for December rose $0.41 or 0.5 percent at $75.74 a barrel, due to some short-covering and bargain hunting.

Closer to home, Malaysia will release September figures for current account and Q3 numbers for gross domestic product later today. The current account saw a surplus of MYR9.10 billion in August. GDP is expected to expand 3.3 percent on year, up from 2.9 percent in the three months prior.