Malaysia Stock Market Expected To Be Rangebound On Thursday

The Malaysia stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one session after ending the three-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 15 points or 1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just shy of the 1,465-point plateau and it figures to remain in that neighborhood again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on continuing anxiety over the outlook for interest rates and tumbling oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses figure to open under pressure.

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

For the day, the index shed 10.01 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 1,464.00 after trading between 1,462.60 and 1,473.23.

Among the actives, Axiata perked 0.32 percent, while CIMB Group added 0.55 percent, Dialog Group retreated 1.27 percent, Digi.com stumbled 0.47 percent, Genting plunged 2.91 percent, Genting Malaysia rose 0.36 percent, IHH Healthcare weakened 0.99 percent, INARI slumped 1.21 percent, IOI Corporation eased 0.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong sank 0.84 percent, Maybank lost 0.46 percent, Maxis tumbled 1.68 percent, MRDIY plummeted 3.43 percent, Petronas Chemicals tanked 1.91 percent, PPB Group declined 1.35 percent, Press Metal skidded 0.95 percent, Public Bank shed 0.48 percent, RHB Capital slid 0.36 percent, Sime Darby fell 0.43 percent, Sime Darby Plantations dropped 0.92 percent, Telekom Malaysia gained 0.60 percent, Tenaga Nasional surrendered 1.53 percent and MISC, Nestle Malaysia and Petronas Dagangan were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday but faded late, allowing only the NASDAQ to finish in the green.

The Dow shed 84.50 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 33,045.09, while the NASDAQ rose 14.77 points or 0.13 percent to close at 11,507.07 and the S&P 500 dipped 6.29 points or 0.16 percent to end at 3,991.05.

The mixed close on Wall Street followed the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent monetary policy meeting. The minutes revealed a “few participants” favored raising rates by 50 basis points versus the 25 basis point rate hike that was ultimately announced.

The minutes noted all participants continued to anticipate that ongoing rate increases would be appropriate to achieve the Fed’s dual goals of maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Wednesday, extending their losing streak to six consecutive sessions on concerns about the outlook for global demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery plunged $2.41 or 3.1 percent to $73.95 a barrel on its first day as the front month contract.

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