Malaysia Stock Market May Head South Again On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Thursday snapped the three-day slide in which it had slumped more than 20 points or 1.1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,710-point plateau although it may hand back those gains on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on tech weakness, surging oil prices and Middle East tensions. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses also figure to open in the red.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Thursday as gains from the financials and industrials were offset by weakness from the plantations and properties.

For the day, the index perked 3.22 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 1,714.59 after trading between 1,709.05 and 1,716.43.

The lead from Wall Street is bleak as the major averages opened sharply lower and stayed that way throughout the trading day.

The Dow tumbled 506.93 points or 0.97 percent to finish at 51,711.65, while the NASDAQ plummeted 553.21 points or 2.15 percent to close at 25,137.69 and the S&P 500 sank 90.66 points or 1.21 percent to end at 7,408.30.

The sell-off on Wall Street reflected a negative reaction to earnings news from tech giants Tesla (TSLA) and Alphabet (GOOGL).

Crude oil prices surged again on Thursday amid concerns of a wider conflict in the Middle East set off by new attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on two Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $5.76 or 6.63 percent at $92.59 per barrel.

The continued spike by the price of crude oil has added to recent concerns about the outlook for inflation and the possibility of higher interest rates.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly decreased last week.