Malaysia Bourse May Extend Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last seven trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had risen more than 15 points or 1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,620-point plateau and it may take further damage on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on a declining 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 as losses from the plantations and telecoms were offset by support from the financials and industrials.

For the day, the index slipped 3.93 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 1,619.96 after trading between 1,619.26 and 1,629.69. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail soared 2.42 percent, while AMMB Holdings stumbled 1.72 percent, Axiata retreated 1.09 percent, CIMB Group dropped 0.53 percent, IHH Healthcare surrendered 1.45 percent, IOI Corporation skidded 0.73 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong declined 0.96 percent, Maxis tanked 1.67 percent, Maybank and Tenaga Nasional both sank 0.30 percent, MISC fell 0.26 percent, MRDIY added 0.66 percent, Nestle Malaysia advanced 0.89 percent, Petronas Chemicals climbed 1.21 percent, Petronas Dagangan jumped 1.70 percent, Petronas Gas perked 0.11 percent, PPB Group plummeted 3.97 percent, Press Metal gathered 0.31 percent, Public Bank and QL Resources both rose 0.47 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.29 percent, Sime Darby gained 0.50 percent, SD Guthrie slumped 0.74 percent, Telekom Malaysia tumbled 0.83 percent, YTL Power rallied 1.32 percent and Celcomdigi, Gamuda, YTL Corporation and Sunway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages were unable to hold early gains on Thursday and finished deeply under water.

The Dow stumbled 386.51 points or 0.84 percent to finish at 45,752.26, while the NASDAQ plummeted 486.18 points or 2.15 percent to close at 22,078.05 and the S&P 500 dropped 103.40 points or 1.56 percent to end at 6,538.76.

The early rally on Wall Street was a positive reaction to highly anticipated earnings news from market leader and AI darling Nvidia (NVDA), which reported better than expected third quarter results and providing upbeat guidance - although the stock tumbled later in the day.

The subsequent downturn by the broader markets reflected concerns about the outlook for interest rates after the release of the Labor Department's long-delayed jobs report for September. While the report showed an unexpected uptick by the unemployment rate, job growth in September far exceeded economist estimates.

The mixed data further eroded confidence that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by another quarter point in December. While CME Group's FedWatch Tool indicates the chances of a rate cut next month have risen to 39.8 percent from 30.1 percent on Wednesday, that figure is down sharply from 98.8 percent a month ago.

Crude oil prices edged lower on Thursday as investors assessed reports of renewed efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war ahead of the U.S. deadline. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was down $0.27 or 0.44 percent at $59.18 per barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will provide October numbers for consumer prices later today; in September, inflation was up 0.2 percent on month and 1.5 percent on year.