Malaysia Stock Market Due For Consolidation On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, gathering almost 20 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,480-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft amid concerns over the health of the world economy and the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the telecoms and mixed performances from the financials and plantations.

For the day, the index gained 5.42 points or 0.37 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,480.11 after moving as low as 1,461.18.

Among the actives, AMMB Holdings and Petronas Dagangan both slumped 0.72 percent, while Axiata soared 2.99 percent, Dialog Group spiked2.90 percent, Digi.com jumped 1.53 percent, Genting gained 0.67 percent, IHH Healthcare lost 0.81 percent, INARI retreated 1.13 percent, IOI Corporation was up 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.18 percent, Maybank collected 0.81 percent, Maxis was down 0.26 percent, MISC sank 0.82 percent, Petronas Chemicals rose 0.47 percent, PPB Group fell 0.57 percent, Press Metal rallied 1.25 percent, RHB Capital dropped 0.88 percent, Sime Darby stumbled 1.35 percent, Telekom Malaysia surged 3.65 percent, Tenaga Nasional added 0.65 percent and Sime Darby Plantations, MRDIY, Public Bank, CIMB Group and Genting Malaysia were unchanged,

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages shook off a slightly higher open on Wednesday, quickly heading south and finishing firmly in the red.

The Dow tumbled 365.85 points or 1.10 percent to finish at 32,875.71, while the NASDAQ slumped 139.94 points or 1.35 percent to close at 10,213.29 and the S&P 500 sank 46.03 points or 1.20 percent to end at 3,783.22.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street partly reflected ongoing concerns about the economic outlook and the possibility of higher interest rates leading to a recession.

However, with many traders away from their desks amid the holidays, the sell-off on Wall Street may have been exaggerated by below average volume.

In economic news, the National Association of Realtors reported a continued slump in U.S. pending home sales in November.

Crude oil prices dropped Wednesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand amid fears of a global recession and rising COVID-19 cases in China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended down $0.57 or 0.7 percent at $78.86 a barrel.