Malaysia Stock Market May Be Stuck In Neutral On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, slipping 10 points or 0.7 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,425-point plateau and it is again expected to remain in that neighborhood again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement, with investors expected to wait and see what happens in terms of corporate earnings. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little hanged and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the industrials and financials, while the telecoms were mixed.

For the day, the index lost 7.29 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 1,425.07 after trading between 1,423.05 and 1,431.57.

Among the actives, CIMB Group sank 0.57 percent, while Dialog Group tumbled 1.29 percent, Digi.com slumped 0.67 percent, Genting Malaysia lost 0.38 percent, IHH Healthcare shed 0.51 percent, INARI advanced 0.96 percent, IOI Corporation and QL Resources both dropped 0.52 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong declined 0.74 percent, Maxis and Sime Darby Plantations both dipped 0.23 percent, Maybank and Hong Leong Financial both eased 0.11 percent, MISC rose 0.14 percent, MRDIY skidded 0.61 percent, Petronas Chemicals plummeted 2.57 percent, PPB Group surrendered 1.21 percent, Public Bank fell 0.25 percent, RHB Capital retreated 0.72 percent, Sime Darby tanked 1.38 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 0.61 percent, Tenaga Nasional plunged 1.44 percent and Axiata, Genting and Press Metal were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street remains ambiguous as the major averages opened sharply lower on Wednesday but chipped away throughout the session to finish mixed and little changed.

The Dow shed 79.62 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 33,897.01, while the NASDAQ rose 3.82 points or 0.03 percent to close at 12,157.23 and the S&P 500 eased 0.35 points or 0.01 percent to end at 4,154.52.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders reacted to mixed earnings news as Netflix (NFLX) disappointed while Morgan Stanley (MS) and Travelers (TRV) beat the street.

Negative sentiment was generated by a jump in treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note reaching its highest level in nearly a month. The increase reflected concerns about global inflation after the U.K. said consumer prices increased more than expected in March.

On the U.S. economic front, the Federal Reserve released its Beige Book report, noting U.S. economic activity was little changed in recent weeks, while the rate of price increases appeared to be slowing.

Crude oil prices slid on Wednesday on concerns that any further policy tightening by the Fed could hurt growth and significantly curb energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $1.66 or 2 percent at $79.24 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will release March numbers for consumer prices later today, with forecasts calling for an increase of 3.6 percent on year, easing from 3.7 percent in February.