Renewed Consolidation Tipped For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market bounced higher again on Thursday, one day after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost a dozen points or 0.7 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,635-point plateau although it's likely to turn lower again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on surging oil prices and AI concerns. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The KLCI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and plantation stocks, while the technology and energy companies were down.

For the day, the index jumped 19.30 points or 1.19 percent to finish at 1,635.86 after trading between 1,622.62 and 1,642.44.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened lower on Thursday but trended sharply lower as the day progressed, ending at session lows.

The Dow plummeted 1,833.06 points or 3.44 percent to finish at 51,523.06, while the NASDAQ crashed 1,421.52 points or 5.52 percent to close at 24,315.00 and the S&P 500 tumbled 334.89 points or 4.36 percent to end at 7,353.73.

The sharp pullback on Wall Street came amid a renewed sell-off in the tech sector, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ plummeting into contraction territory on concerns about the sustainability of the artificial intelligence trade amid expected tighter regulation.

Semiconductor stocks showed a particularly steep drop, resulting in a 12.3 percent nosedive by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Considerable weakness was is also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 10 percent plunge by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department noted an unexpected decline in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week; the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on October's employment situation later today.

Crude oil prices surged on Thursday as investors look for the next steps to resolve the U.S.-Iran standoff - either through diplomacy or hostility. West Texas Intermediate crude for December was up $2.29 or 2.60 percent at $90.41 per barrel.