Malaysia Shares Called Rangebound On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, giving up almost 10 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,425-point plateau and it's expected to see little movement on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on concerns of economic slowdown. The European and U.S. markets ended mostly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The KLCI finished barely lower on Thursday following mixed performances from the telecoms and financials, while the plantations offered support.

For the day, the index dipped 0.50 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 1,425.18 after trading between 1,424.82 and 1,428.78.

Among the actives, CIMB Group tumbled 1.39 percent, while Dialog Group dropped 0.90 percent, Digi.com rose 0.45 percent, Genting advanced 0.87 percent, Genting Malaysia climbed 1.12 percent, IHH Healthcare was down 0.34 percent, INARI plummeted 3.42 percent, IOI Corporation jumped 1.84 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rallied 1.38 percent, Maxis fell 0.45 percent, Maybank gained 0.46 percent, MISC sank 0.54 percent, Petronas Chemicals tanked 2.05 percent, PPB Group slid 0.36 percent, Press Metal perked 0.20 percent, Public Bank collected 0.50 percent, RHB Capital was up 0.18 percent, Sime Darby lost 0.47 percent, Sime Darby Plantations spiked 1.83 percent, Telekom Malaysia retreated 0.98 percent, Tenaga Nasional added 0.66 percent and Axiata and MRDIY were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and only the NASDAQ was able to peek slightly into the green by the end of the session.

The Dow tumbled 221.82 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 33,309.51, while the NASDAQ rose 22.07 points or 0.18 percent to close at 12,328.51 and the S&P 500 slipped 7.02 points or 0.17 percent to end at 4,130.62.

The weakness on Wall Street came among disappointing earnings news from the likes of Disney (DIS), while renewed concerns about turmoil in the banking sector also weighed.

In economic news, the Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand rose less than expected, adding to optimism the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged next month.

The Labor Department also said that initial jobless claims climbed to their highest level in well over a year last week.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Thursday amid uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand, while a firm dollar also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $1.69 or 2.3 percent at $70.87 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will provide Q1 figures for gross domestic product and current account later today. GDP is predicted to expand 4.8 percent on year, slowing from 7.0 percent in the previous three months. The current account surplus three months earlier was MYR25.70 billion.