Renewed Support Expected For Malaysia Stock Market

Ahead of Thursday’s holiday for Diwali, the Malaysia stock market had moved lower again – one session after ending the nine-day losing streak in which it had plummeted more than 75 points or 4.8 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,530-point plateau although it figures to rebound on Friday

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests lid upside, with optimism over interest rates offset by weakness from crude oil prices. The European markets were up and the U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the plantations and glove makers, while the financials came in mixed.

For the day, the index slipped 6.30 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 1,531.33 after trading between 1,530.35 and 1,543.87. Volume was 3.419 billion shares worth 2.353 billion ringgit. There were 647 decliners and 322 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata and Genting both retreated 0.78 percent, while CIMB Group lost 0.39 percent, Dialog Group sank 0.69 percent, Digi.com surrendered 1.18 percent, Hartalega Holdings skidded 0.70 percent, Hong Leong Bank collected 0.33 percent, IHH Healthcare advanced 0.93 percent, IOI Corporation tumbled 1.53 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong dropped 0.65 percent, Maybank rose 0.13 percent, Maxis plunged 1.93 percent, MISC dipped 0.14 percent, MRDIY spiked 1.97 percent, Petronas Chemicals gained 0.36 percent, PPB Group shed 0.56 percent, Press Metal slid 0.18 percent, RHB Capital added 0.75 percent, Sime Darby Plantations tanked 1.88 percent, Telekom Malaysia declined 1.08 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.21 percent, Top Glove plummeted 3.49 percent and Genting Malaysia, Public Bank and Sime Darby were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the NASDAQ and S&P 500 both opened higher and stayed that way to hit fresh record closing highs, while the Dow opened lower and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow shed 33.35 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 36,124.23, while the NASDAQ jumped 128.72 points or 0.81 percent to close at 15.940.31 and the S&P added 19.49 points or 0.42 percent to end at 4,680.06.

Another batch of earnings news was a driving factor as strong results from chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM) helped to send the NASDAQ higher, while losses by Dow Inc. (DOW), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Travelers (TRV) contributed to the modest pullback by the Dow.

Traders also continued to react positively to the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy announcement, with the central bank announcing plans to scale back its asset purchases but signaling it won’t be in a hurry to begin raising interest rates.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit widened much more than expected in September.

Crude oil prices tumbled and settled at their lowest level in nearly a month on Thursday after OPEC decided to stick with its plan to raise oil output modestly and gradually. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended lower by $2.05 or 2.5 percent at $78.81 a barrel.