Malaysia Stock Market May Take Further Damage On Friday

The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, sinking almost 20 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,440-point plateau and it’s expected to see continued consolidation again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is slightly soft ahead of key U.S. employment data later today. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and a mixed performance from the telecoms.

For the day, the index eased 2.71 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 1,441.85 after trading between 1,433.04 and 1,442.78.

Among the actives, Axiata skidded 0.75 percent, while Celcomdigi rallied 1.35 percent, CIMB Group fell 0.18 percent, Dialog Group declined 0.89 percent, Genting and PPB Group both rose 0.24 percent, Genting Malaysia lost 0.40 percent, IHH Healthcare advanced 0.50 percent, IOI Corporation dropped 0.72 percent, Maxis plunged 2.23 percent, Maybank shed 0.56 percent, MISC sank 0.69 percent, Petronas Chemicals jumped 1.48 percent, Press Metal tumbled 1.01 percent, Public Bank retreated 0.97 percent, RHB Capital slumped 0.88 percent, Sime Darby Plantations climbed 0.90 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 0.40 percent, Tenaga Nasional eased 0.10 percent, Westports Holdings gained 0.29 percent and Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Sime Darby and MRDIY were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up negative as the major averages opened lower on Thursday, rallied midday but sank back into the red heading into the close.

The Dow shed 66.63 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 35,215.89, while the NASDAQ dipped 13.73 points or 0.10 percent to close at 13,858.71 and the S&P 500 fell 11.50 points or 0.25 percent to end at 4,501.89.

The early weakness on Wall Street reflected continued concerns about U.S. debt after credit rating agency Fitch Ratings unexpectedly downgraded the United States’ credit rating earlier this week.

Selling pressure remained somewhat subdued, however, as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report later today.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department noted a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Institute for Supply Management reported a modest slowdown in the pace of growth in U.S. service sector activity in July.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Thursday after Saudi Arabia announced that it would extend its production cut to next month. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September climbed $2.06 or 2.6 percent at $81.66 a barrel.