Malaysia Stock Market May Open Under Pressure On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in three consecutive trading days, easing almost 10 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,385-point plateau and it may take further damage on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on growing concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished slightly lower again on Thursday as losses from the plantations and telecoms were mitigated by support from the financial shares.

For the day, the index dipped 3.95 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 1,385.95 after trading between 1,381.86 and 1,389.71.

Among the actives, Axiata retreated 0.76 percent, while Celcomdigi plunged 2.14 percent, CIMB Group advanced 0.58 percent, Genting gained 0.74 percent, Genting Malaysia climbed 0.81 percent, IHH Healthcare and Public Bank both lost 0.51 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong sank 0.52 percent, Maxis declined 0.74 percent, Maybank collected 0.34 percent, Petronas Chemicals fell 0.33 percent, Press Metal plummeted 2.46 percent, Sime Darby Plantations tumbled 2.06 percent, Telekom Malaysia slumped 0.62 percent, Tenaga Nasional eased 0.11 percent, Westports Holdings dropped 0.56 percent and MRDIY, PPB Group, RHB Capital, Sime Darby, Dialog Group, IOI Corporation, MISC and AMMB Holdings were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests consolidation as the major averages opened firmly lower on Thursday and remained in the red throughout the trading day.

The Dow plunged 366.38 points or 1.07 percent to finish at 33,922.26, while the NASDAQ tumbled 112.61 points or 0.82 percent to close at 13,679.04 and the S&P 500 sank 35.23 points or 0.79 percent to end at 4,411.59.

The early sell-off on Wall Street came as a batch of largely upbeat U.S. economic data added to concerns about the outlook for interest rates following Wednesday's hawkish Federal Reserve minutes.

Before the start of trading, payroll processor ADP released a report showing much stronger than expected private sector job growth in June. While the surge in private sector employment paints a positive picture of the economy, it also may convince the Fed to resume raising interest rates.

The Institute for Supply Management also released a report showing the pace of growth in the service sector accelerated by much more than expected in June.

Oil futures settled roughly flat on Thursday with traders weighing the impact of higher interest rates on growth and energy demand against data showing a drop in crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August settled at $71.80 a barrel, up a penny from the previous close.