The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, sinking more than a dozen 5 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,570-point plateau although it may find traction on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed, with support from technology stocks and weakness from oil companies. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the glove makers were mitigated by support from the plantations.
For the day, the index fell 7.46 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 1,570.86 after trading between 1,568.67 and 1,578.75. Volume was 4.260 billion shares worth 2.745 billion ringgit. There were 611 decliners and 361 gainers.
Among the actives, Axiata fell 0.25 percent, while Dialog Group surrendered 0.67 percent, Digi.com rose 0.23 percent, Genting added 0.59 percent, Hartalega Holdings and Public Bank both shed 0.48 percent, IHH Healthcare was up 0.18 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong advanced 0.87 percent, Maxis skidded 1.75 percent, MISC plunged 2.53 percent, Petronas Chemicals lost 0.37 percent, PPB Group sank 0.65 percent, Press Metal plummeted 2.85 percent, RHB Capital collected 0.37 percent, Sime Darby retreated 0.89 percent, Sime Darby Plantations gained 0.24 percent, Supermax tanked 1.89 percent, Telekom Malaysia tumbled 1.79 percent, Tenaga Nasional declined 0.70 percent, Top Glove dropped 0.64 percent and CIMB Group, Maybank, IOI Corporation and Genting Malaysia were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is wildly inconsistent as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but then went off on their own different directions. The NASDAQ stayed positive, the Dow stayed negative and the S&P 500 hugged the line and finished barely in the red.
The Dow dropped 210.22 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 33,823.45, while the NASDAQ spiked 121.67 points or 0.87 percent to end at 14,161.35 and the S&P 500 eased 1.84 points or 0.04 percent to close at 4,221.86.
The mixed performance on Wall Street came as traders moved out of cyclicals and into tech stocks after Wednesday’s announcement from the Federal Reserve, which saw the central bank move up its timeline for raising interest rates.
In economic news, the Labor Department noted an unexpected uptick in initial jobless claims last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity expanded at a slightly slower rate in June.
Crude oil prices tumbled on Thursday, weighed down by a stronger dollar after Federal Reserve officials projected that interest rates might be hiked by 2023. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down by $1.11 or 1.5 percent at $71.04 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Malaysia Stock Market May Snap Losing Streak
2021-06-17 23:30:12
