Malaysia Stock Market Due For Profit Taking

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished higher in five straight sessions, gathering more than 60 points or 4.5 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,435-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on rising treasury yields and concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, telecoms, glove makers and plantations.

For the day, the index climbed 22.62 points or 1.60 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,437.72 after moving as low as 1,411.74. Volume was 2.707 billion shares worth 2.596 billion ringgit. There were 493 gainers and 365 decliners.

Among the actives, Axiata gained 1.17 percent, while CIMB Group jumped 2.04 percent, Dialog Group spiked 3.51 percent, Digi.com and Maxis both surged 3.55 percent, Genting was up 0.93 percent, Hartalega Holdings gathered 1.09 percent, IHH Healthcare dipped 0.16 percent, INARI added 1.27 percent, IOI Corporation skyrocketed 4.44 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong improved 1.60 percent, Maybank collected 0.58 percent, MRDIY strengthened 2.03 percent, Petronas Chemicals accelerated 3.13 percent, PPB Group advanced 1.69 percent, Press Metal perked 0.69 percent, Public Bank rallied 2.30 percent, RHB Capital climbed 1.79 percent, Sime Darby shed 0.45 percent, Sime Darby Plantations soared 3.53 percent, Tenaga Nasional rose 1.11 percent, Top Glove increased 1.38 percent and Telekom Malaysia, Petronas Gas, Genting Malaysia and MISC were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages were unable to hold early gains, heading south by midday and finishing at daily lows.

The Dow slumped 90.22 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 30,333.59, while the NASDAQ shed 65.66 points or 0.61 percent to end at 10,614.84 and the S&P 500 lost 29.38 points or 0.80 percent to close at 3,665.78.

Stocks initially benefited from another batch of upbeat earnings news from big-name companies like IBM Corp. (IBM) and AT&T (T).

Buying interest waned over the course of the morning, however, with a continued surge in treasury yields contributing to the subsequent pullback by the markets. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note extended recent gains, reaching its highest levels in over fourteen years.

Concerns about the outlook for interest rates continue to drive yields higher, with Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker saying that he expects the Fed to continue raising rates "for a while."

The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points in early November, bringing the target range for the federal funds rate to 3.75 to 4.0 percent.

Crude oil futures for November delivery settled higher on their expiration day as traders weighed energy demand and supply positions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November rose $0.43 or 0.5 percent at $85.98 a barrel on the expiration day. But WTI Crude oil futures for December eased to $84.51 a barrel.