Malaysia Stock Market May Test Support At 1,400 Points

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 7 points or 0.5 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,410-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Thursday.

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

The KLCI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, telecoms and plantations.

For the day, the index dropped 14.76 points or 1.04 percent to finish at 1,411.32 after trading between 1,410.33 and 1,421.43. Volume was 1.758 billion shares worth 1.277 billion ringgit. There were 578 decliners and 249 gainers.

Among the actives, Petronas Chemicals plummeted 4.83 percent, while MISC plunged 4.39 percent, INARI tanked 4.02 percent, MRDIY spiked 2.96 percent, Hartalega Holdings cratered 2.56 percent, Digi.com tumbled 2.03 percent, PPB Group surrendered 2.00 percent, Dialog Group declined 1.96 percent, Press Metal retreated 1.45 percent, Tenaga Nasional slumped 1.37 percent, Telekom Malaysia weakened 1.33 percent, Maxis skidded 1.19 percent, Genting Malaysia dropped 1.06 percent, Sime Darby Plantations sank 0.97 percent, Genting shed 0.88 percent, Axiata lost 0.73 percent, Public Bank fell 0.68 percent, CIMB Group slid 0.59 percent, Hong Leong Financial and RHB Capital both dipped 0.53 percent, IHH Healthcare and Sime Darby both added 0.47 percent, Maybank slipped 0.35 percent, IOI Corporation was down 0.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.10 percent and Top Glove was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday, flirted with the unchanged line before finally ending with modest losses.

The Dow tumbled 208.54 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 30,772.79, while the NASDAQ eased 17.15 points or 0.15 percent to end at 11,247.58 and the S&P 500 fell 17.02 points or 0.45 percent to close at 3,801.78.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as a Labor Department report showing a bigger than expected increase in U.S. consumer prices added to concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The bigger than expected jump in inflation has solidified expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by 75 basis points later this month and increases the likelihood of another 75-basis point rate hike in September.

Later in the day, the Fed released its Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts, which noted U.S. economic activity has expanded at a modest pace since mid-May.

Crude oil prices shrugged off a surge in U.S. inflation and climbed higher on Wednesday, rebounding smartly after suffering a sharp loss in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $0.46 at $96.30 a barrel.