Malaysia Stock Market May Tick Lower On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market bounced higher again on Thursday, one day after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 40 points or 2.5 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,720-point plateau although it's likely to head south again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with technology stocks expected to weigh. The European and U.S. markets were own and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks, industrials and telecoms.

For the day, the index perked 2.25 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 1,722.19 after trading between 1,716.76 and 1,726.75.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened mixed but quickly fell under water, trending lower throughout the trading day and finishing near session lows.

The Dow sank 105.67 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 52,552.97, while the NASDAQ tumbled 387.28 points or 1.47 percent to end at 25,881.95 and the S&P 500 lost 38.63 points or 0.51 percent to close at 7,533.77.

The pullback on Wall Street came amid renewed weakness among technology stocks, as reflected by the slump by the tech-heavy NASDAQ. Computer hardware and semiconductor stocks turned in some of the worst performances.

Gold, brokerage and steel stocks saw notable weakness, while transportation, housing and healthcare stocks were up.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly dipped to a two-month low last week. Also, the Commerce Department noted a modest increase in U.S. retail sales in June.

Crude oil prices slumped on Thursday as hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the U.S.-Iran conflict strengthened. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was down $0.90 or 1.13 percent at $78.70 per barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will release preliminary Q2 figures for gross domestic product later today; in Q1, GDP was up 5.4 percent on year. Malaysia also will see June figures for consumer prices; in May, inflation was up 0.1 percent on month and 2.0 percent on year.