Malaysia Stock Market May Stop The Bleeding On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, sinking more than 25 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,430-point plateau although it's expected to find support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with bargain hunting expected to lift the oversold bourses - particularly among the technology shares. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished barely lower on Thursday following losses from the financials, gains from the plantations and glove makers and a mixed picture from the industrials and telecoms.

For the day, the index eased 0.05 points or 0.00 percent to finish at 1,431.05 after trading between 1,427.78 and 1,441.47. Volume was 2.345 billion shares worth 1.560 billion ringgit. There were 500 decliners and 348 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata skidded 1.09 percent, while Dialog Group climbed 0.97 percent, Digi.com tanked 1.55 percent, Genting added 0.67 percent, Genting Malaysia advanced 0.71 percent, Hartalega Holdings jumped 1.11 percent, IHH Healthcare lost 0.31 percent, INARI retreated 1.17 percent, IOI Corporation rallied 2.41 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong spiked 3.16 percent, Maybank slumped 0.47 percent, Maxis was up 0.31 percent, MISC dropped 0.85 percent, MRDIY gained 9,52 percent, Petronas Chemicals plunged 1.61 percent, PPB Group plummeted 3.57 percent, Press Metal tumbled 1.28 percent, RHB Capital declined 1.23 percent, Sime Darby rose 0.47 percent, Sime Darby Plantations surged 6.19 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.24 percent, Top Glove soared 3.96 percent and Public Bank, CIMB Group, Telekom Malaysia and Hong Leong Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday, swooned midday before accelerating higher into the close.

The Dow jumped 194.23 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 30,677.36, while the NASDAQ spiked 179.11 points or 1.62 percent to end at 11,232.19 and the S&P 500 gained 35.94 points or 0.95 percent to close at 3,795.73.

The markets continued to experience choppy trading as traders weighed going bargain hunting following recent weakness against the possibility of a global recession.

Traders kept an eye on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, with the Fed chief reiterating his commitment to moving quickly to bring inflation back down. But the Fed's plans to aggressively raise interest rates to combat inflation has led to concerns tighter monetary policy will tip the economy into a recession.

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

Oil futures slid on Thursday, losing ground for a second straight session on concerns about outlook for energy demand amid rising possibility of a recession. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended lower by $1.92 or 1.8 percent at $104.27 a barrel.