Malaysia Stock Market Overdue For Support On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in six straight sessions, tumbling more than 50 points or 3.4 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index new rests just above the 1,465-point plateau although bargain hunting is expected to lift the market on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher, with upside limited by concern over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the plantations and telecoms, while the financials and glove makers were mixed.

For the day, the index skidded 15.31 points or 1.03 percent to finish at 1,467.26 after trading between 1,464.83 and 1,487.97. Volume was 2.892 billion shares worth 1.738 billion ringgit. There were 506 decliners and 359 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata tanked 4.59 percent, CIMB Group climbed 1.52 percent, Dialog Group sank 1.28 percent, Digi.com surrendered 2.21 percent, Genting fell 0.86 percent, Genting Malaysia dropped 1.69 percent, Hartalega Holdings slumped 1.74 percent, IHH Healthcare stumbled 1.89 percent, INARI slipped 0.37 percent, IOI Corporation plummeted 6.92 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rose 0.18 percent, Maybank was down 0.23 percent, Maxis declined 2.09 percent, MISC shed 1.15 percent, MRDIY jumped 1.76 percent, Petronas Chemicals slid 0.70 percent, PPB Group tumbled 2.79 percent, Press Metal dipped 0.64 percent, Public Bank collected 0.43 percent, RHB Capital lost 0.87 percent, Sime Darby weakened 1.70 percent, Sime Darby Plantations plunged 6.59 percent, Tenaga Nasional retreated 1.98 percent, Top Glove added 0.60 percent and Telekom Malaysia was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages shook off early weakness and moved quickly to the upside, although they finished well off of the day's highs.

The Dow added 59.64 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 32,969.23, while the NASDAQ gained 50.23 points or 0.41 percent to end at 12,431.53 and the S&P 500 rose 12.04 points or 0.29 percent to close at 4,140.77.

The early weakness followed comments from Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, who reiterated the U.S. central bank's commitment to bringing inflation under control through tighter monetary policy.

Investors also looked ahead to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the central bank's annual Jackson Hole economic symposium later this week for clues about the bank's outlook for the economy and interest rates.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said that new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods were virtually unchanged in July. Also, the rate of decline for pending home sales slowed from the previous month.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, supported by data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, as well as news that OPEC may cut production to support prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September climbed $1.15 or 1.2 percent at $94.89 a barrel.