Malaysia Bourse May Hand Back Thursday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market inched higher again on Thursday, one day after ending 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 above the 1,630-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on continued uncertainty regarding the end of the U.S. government shutdown. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished barely higher on Thursday following gains from the financials, weakness from the industrials and a mixed picture from the telecoms and plantations.

For the day, the index perked 0.66 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 1,632.27 after trading between 1,631.15 and 1,635.27. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail rallied 1.91 percent, while AMMB Holdings eased 0.17 percent, Axiata and Celcomdigi both stumbled 1.09 percent, CIMB Group dipped 0.26 percent, Gamuda added 0.39 percent, IHH Healthcare rose 0.12 percent, Maybank perked 0.10 percent, MRDIY sank 0.62 percent, Nestle Malaysia was up 0.09 percent, Petronas Chemicals shed 0.57 percent, Petronas Dagangan retreated 0.97 percent, Petronas Gas fell 0.32 percent, PPB Group slumped 0.84 percent, Press Metal jumped 1.88 percent, Public Bank advanced 0.70 percent, QL Resources expanded 0.47 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.15 percent, Sime Darby strengthened 0.98 percent, SD Guthrie lost 0.55 percent, Sunway gained 0.19 percent, Telekom Malaysia declined 0.96 percent, Tenaga Nasional climbed 0.75 percent, YTL Corporation plunged 2.35 percent, YTL Power plummeted 2.57 percent and IOI Corporation, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Maxis and MISC were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is rough as the major averages opened slightly lower on Thursday but accelerated deeper into the red as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow plunged 779.86 points or 1.62 percent to finish at 47,474.96, while the NASDAQ tanked 536.10 points or 2.29 percent to end at 22,870.36 and the S&P 500 sank 114.20 points or 1.67 percent to close at 6,736.72.

The Dow pulled back well off the record closing high set on Wednesday amid a steep drop by shares of Disney (DIS), which came under pressure after the company reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates but weaker than expected revenues.

Valuation concerns also continued to weigh on tech stocks, with AI darling and market leader Nvidia (NVDA) moving sharply lower along with tech heavyweights like Broadcom (AVGO) and Alphabet (GOOGL).

The weakness on Wall Street may also have reflected uncertainty whether key U.S. economic will be released following the end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Crude oil edged higher on Thursday as the end of the U.S. government shutdown has renewed confidence in consumption and energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was up $0.22 or 0.38 percent at $58.71 per barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will provide Q3 numbers for GDP and current account later today. GDP is expected to jump 5.2 percent on year, up from 4.4 percent in the three months prior. The current account surplus in Q2 was 0.30 billion ringgit.