Malaysia Bourse May Extend Wednesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday ended the four-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 20 points or 1.4 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,540-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday.

The global forecast is mixed and flat amid a lack of catalysts, with expected weakness from the technology stocks likely offset by gains from the oil companies. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following profit taking among the telecoms and plantations and a mixed picture from the financials.

For the day, the index skidded 16.43 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 1,538.13 after trading between 1,536.76 and 1,544.74.

Among the actives, Axiata declined 1.75 percent, while Celcomdigi tumbled 2.06 percent, CIMB Group shed 0.30 percent, Genting lost 0.20 percent, Genting Malaysia sank 0.34 percent, IHH Healthcare was up 0.16 percent, IOI Corporation tanked 2.24 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong slumped 1.45 percent, Maxis plummeted 2.48 percent, Maybank climbed 1.05 percent, MISC added 0.54 percent, Petronas Chemicals stumbled 1.59 percent, PPB Group plunged 2.45 percent, Press Metal rose 0.38 percent, Public Bank collected 0.24 percent, RHB Capital skidded 0.53 percent, Sime Darby Plantations retreated1.81 percent, Telekom Malaysia dropped 0.50 percent, Tenaga Nasional gained 0.52 percent, YTL Power perked 0.27 percent and MRDIY, YTL Corporation, Sime Darby and QL Resources were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Wednesday and finished the same way, little changed.

The Dow added 37.83 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 39,043.32, while the NASDAQ sank 87.87 points or 0.54 percent to close at 16,177.77 and the S&P 500 fell 9.96 points or 0.19 percent to end at 5.165.31.

The pullback by the Nasdaq partly reflected weakness in the tech sector, with AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) slumping by 1.1 percent.

Overall trading activity remained subdued ahead of several key reports in the coming days, including producer prices, jobless claims, industrial production and retail sales.

Oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday after data showed an unexpected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, while supply disruptions in Russia also contributed to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April rose $2.16 or 2.8 percent at $79.72 a barrel.