Malaysia Bourse May Extend Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had dipped almost 8 points or 0.6 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,420-point plateau and it may take further damage on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished sharply lower on Thursday with damage across the board, especially among the glove makers, financials and telecoms.

For the day, the index tumbled 31.23 points or 2.15 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,420.38 after peaking at 1,448.32.

Among the actives, Axiata plunged 4.55 percent, while CIMB Group declined 2.55 percent, Dialog Group skidded 1.99 percent, Digi.com tanked 3.67 percent, Genting shed 1.58 percent, Genting Malaysia slid 1.48 percent, Hartalega Holdings plummeted 12.33 percent, IHH Healthcare fell 1.50 percent, INARI slipped 1.22 percent, IOI Corporation retreated 2.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong dipped 1.32 percent, Maybank lost 1.52 percent, Maxis plummeted 4.15 percent, MISC was down 1.11 percent, MRDIY tumbled 2.99 percent, Petronas Chemicals dropped 1.73 percent, PPB Group stumbled 2.18 percent, Press Metal shed 0.68 percent, Public Bank and Tenaga Nasional both weakened 2.02 percent, RHB Capital slumped 2.14 percent, Sime Darby eased 0.46 percent, Sime Darby Plantations surrendered 2.75 percent, Telekom Malaysia and Nestle Malaysia both sank 1.65 percent and Top Glove plummeted 11.11 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and remained in the red throughout the trading day.

The Dow dropped 146.51 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 32,001.25, while the NASDAQ tumbled 181.86 points or 1.73 percent to close at 10,342.94 and the S&P 500 lost 39.80 points or 1.06 percent to end at 3,719.89.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders continued to digest the fourth straight 75-basis point interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, and comments from the central bank Chair Jerome Powell that signaled more interest rate hikes in the coming months.

Investors also digested the latest batch of economic data and looked ahead to the crucial non-farm payroll data, due on Friday.

The Commerce Department said the U.S. trade gap widened to a three-month high in September, while the Labor Department said jobless claims declined last week and the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured goods rose more than expected.

Crude oil prices settled sharply lower Thursday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand. The dollar's sharp uptick following hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve also weighed on crude oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December sank $1.83 or 2 percent at $88.17 a barrel.