Malaysia Bourse May Extend Wednesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up almost 15 points or 0.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,590-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak, with technology stocks expected to continue to weigh. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the telecoms and mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks and industrial issues.

For the day, the index dipped 2.03 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 1,588.21 after trading between 1,583.40 and 1,591.04.

Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail rallied 2.86 percent, while AMMB Holdings eased 0.18 percent, Axiata plunged 2.96 percent, CIMB Group slipped 0.41 percent, Gamuda contracted 1.40 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.44 percent, IOI Corporation lost 0.52 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong retreated 1.64 percent, Maxis sank 0.58 percent, MISC rose 0.13 percent, MRDIY dropped 0.65 percent, Nestle Malaysia jumped 1.71 percent, Petronas Chemicals skyrocketed 12.37 percent, Petronas Dagangan stumbled 1.92 percent, Petronas Gas skidded 0.85 percent, PPB Group plummeted 3.04 percent, Press Metal slumped 0.71 percent, QL Resources advanced 0.71 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.15 percent, Sime Darby shed 0.57 percent, SD Guthrie surged 3.43 percent, Sunway weakened 1.03 percent, Telekom Malaysia declined 1.53 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.44 percent, YTL Corporation slid 0.37 percent, YTL Power tumbled 1.85 percent and Celcomdigi, Maybank and Public Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street continues to be soft as the major averages spent most of Wednesday in the red and finally finished mixed and little changed.

The Dow rose 16.04 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 44,938.31, while the NASDAQ sank 142.09 points or 0.67 percent to end at 21,172.86 and the S&P 500 fell 15.59 points or 0.24 percent to close at 6,395.78.

The early weakness on Wall Street reflected an extended sell-off by technology stocks following reports indicating the Trump administration is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday.

Powell's remarks could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Fed's next monetary policy meeting in September. CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 82.9 percent chance the Fed will lower rates by a quarter point next month.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration said crude oil inventories in the U.S. decreased much more than expected last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $0.79 or 1.3 percent at $63.14 a barrel.