The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in four straight sessions, falling almost 25 points or 1.7 percent in that span. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,530-point plateau and it may take further damage on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative, with oil and technology stocks expected to lead the way lower. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The KLCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares and glove makers, while the plantations and telecoms were mixed.
For the day, the index sank 11.23 points or 0.73 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,531.30 after peaking at 1,547.84. Volume was 3.598 billion shares worth 2.093 billion ringgit. There were 696 decliners and 247 gainers.
Among the actives, Axiata skidded 0.93 percent, while CIMB Group slumped 1.20 percent, Dialog Group tumbled 1.69 percent, Digi.com declined 1.47 percent, Genting and Petronas Gas both shed 0.61 percent, Genting Malaysia and Sime Darby both retreated 1.32 percent, Hartalega Holdings surrendered 1.67 percent, IHH Healthcare plunged 2.29 percent, INARI dropped 0.80 percent, IOI Corporation advanced 0.98 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong tanked 1.97 percent, Maybank slid 0.22 percent, MISC eased 0.13 percent, MRDIY rose 0.29 percent, Petronas Chemicals fell 0.30 percent, PPB Group lost 0.47 percent, Press Metal perked 0.19 percent, Public Bank stumbled 0.88 percent, Telekom Malaysia improved 0.63 percent, Tenaga Nasional sank 0.65 percent, Top Glove plummeted 6.04 percent and RHB Capital, Sime Darby Plantations and Maxis were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is mixed to lower as the major averages opened in the red on Tuesday and spent most of the day there, although the Dow crept above the unchanged line at the end.
The Dow added 48.38 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 31,928.62, while the NASDAQ plummeted 270.83 points or 2.35 percent to close at 11,264.45 and the S&P 500 sank 32.27 points or 0.81 percent to end at 3,941.48.
A steep drop by shares of Snap Inc. (SNAP) weighed on the tech sector after the company warned of weaker than expected second quarter results.
The pullback also reflected lingering concerns that aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve could lead to a recession; the Fed is due to release the minutes from its latest monetary policy meeting later today, which may shed additional light on the outlook for rates.
Adding to the negative sentiment, the Commerce Department reported a much steeper than expected drop in new home sales in April.
Crude oil futures slipped on Tuesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to China’s increased Covid-19 curbs. Markets are also worried that aggressive monetary policy tightening by central banks to control inflation could tip the global economy into a recession. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July fell $0.52 or 0.5 percent at $109.77 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Losing Streak May Continue For Malaysia Stock Market
2022-05-24 23:30:11
