Little Movement Expected For Malaysia Stock Market

The Malaysia stock market on Thursday ended the modest two-day winning streak in which it had gathered just 2 points or 0.1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just shy of the 1,525-point plateau and it figures to remain in that neighborhood again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support expected from oil and technology companies. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Thursday as losses from the glove makers and telecoms were mitigated by support from the plantations and a mixed picture from the financial shares.

For the day, the index dipped 1.34 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 1,523.79 after trading between 1,519.91 and 1,525.12. Volume was 2.809 billion shares worth 2.116 billion ringgit. There were 560 decliners and 387 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata skidded 0.52 percent, while CIMB Group collected 0.20 percent, Dialog Group sank 0.35 percent, Digi.com fell 0.24 percent, Genting tumbled 1.17 percent retreated 0.95 percent, Genting Malaysia dropped 0.95 percent, Hartalega Holdings plunged 2.20 percent, IHH Healthcare lost 0.31 percent, IOI Corporation rallied 0.79 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong jumped 0.78 percent, Maybank declined 0.37 percent, Maxis tanked 1.11 percent, MISC spiked 1.02 percent, MRDIY advanced 0.55 percent, PPB Group rose 0.23 percent, Press Metal soared 2.02 percent, Sime Darby added 0.45 percent, Sime Darby Plantations surged 2.33 percent, Telekom Malaysia tanked 1.40 percent, Tenaga Nasional eased 0.10 percent, Top Glove plummeted 4.38 percent and Petronas Chemicals, Public Bank, RHB Capital and Nestle were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the Dow opened in the red Thursday and remained there throughout the session, while the NASDAQ and S&P shrugged off some early weakness to finish at fresh record closing highs.

The Dow shed 60.10 points or 0.17 percent to finish hat 35,870.95, while the NASDAQ climbed 72.14 points or 0.45 percent to close at 15,993.71 and the S&P 500 rose 15.87 points or 0.34 percent to end at 4,704.54.

The mixed performance followed mixed earnings news from some big-name companies. Retail stocks saw significant strength following upbeat results from companies like Macy’s (M), BJ’s Wholesale (BJ) and Kohl’s (KSS).

Meanwhile, a steep drop by Cisco Systems (CSCO) weighed on the Dow after the company reported better than expected fiscal first quarter earnings but provided disappointing guidance.

In economic news, Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits were nearly unchanged, down by 1,000 from last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed jump in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in November.

Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday, bouncing back after early weakness, despite uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December gained $0.65 or 0.8 percent at $79.01 a barrel.