Malaysia Stock Market Expected To Open Under Pressure On Friday

The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in five straight sessions, sinking more than 25 points or 1.7 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,510-point plateau and it’s expected to open in the red again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on concerns over the spread of the coronavirus variant. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished sharply lower on Thursday with damage across the board – especially from the financials, plantations and industrials.

For the day, the index dropped 21.44 points or 1.40 percent to finish at 1,508.71 after trading between 1,501.21 and 1,525.90. Volume was 5.349 billion shares worth 3.542 billion ringgit. There were 1,057 decliners and 147 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata eased 0.26 percent, while CIMB Group plunged 3.70 percent, Dialog Group sank 2.03 percent, Genting retreated 2.45 percent, Genting Malaysia skidded 3.17 percent, Hartalega Holdings dipped 1.13 percent, IHH Healthcare slipped 0.36 percent, IOI Corporation weakened 2.13 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong dropped 1.99 percent, Maybank lost 0.37 percent, Maxis shed 1.58 percent, MISC was down 0.89 percent, MRDIY plummeted 4.77 percent, Petronas Chemicals fell 1.24 percent, Petronas Gas climbed 1.03 percent, PPB Group slid 1.19 percent, Press Metal surrendered 2.18 percent, Public Bank sank 0.74 percent, RHB Capital lost 1.32 percent, Sime Darby softened 0.91 percent, Sime Darby Plantations declined 2.28 percent, Telekom Malaysia tanked 3.64 percent, Tenaga Nasional slipped 0.93 percent, Top Glove tumbled 3.63 percent and Digi.com was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks opened sharply lower on Thursday, made back some ground as the day progressed but still ended firmly in the red.

The Dow plunged 259.86 points or 0.75 percent to finish at 34,421.93, while the NASDAQ dropped 105.28 points or 0.72 percent to end at 14,559.79 and the S&P 500 sank 37.31 points or 0.86 percent to close at 4,320.82.

Concerns about the outlook for the global economy contributed to the early sell-off on Wall Street, while news that Japan has declared a new state of emergency for Tokyo ahead of the Olympic Games added to worries about the impact of new coronavirus variants.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing initial jobless claims unexpectedly inched higher last week.

Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday after data showed a bigger than expected decline in crude inventories in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended up by $0.74 or 1 percent at $72.94 a barrel.