Malaysia Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Red

The Malaysia stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the modest two-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 7 points or 0.5 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,445-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on rising concerns about the outlook for interest rates and ongoing geopolitical risks. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the telecoms and mixed performances from the financials and plantations.

For the day, the index dipped 3.88 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 1,442.66 after trading between 1,441.34 and 1,445.19.

Among the actives, AMMB Holdings rallied 1.05 percent, while Axiata shed 0.41 percent, Celcomdigi retreated 0.92 percent, CIMB Group advanced 0.18 percent, Genting sank 0.49 percent, Genting Malaysia declined 0.81 percent, IHH Healthcare added 0.17 percent, IOI Corporation slid 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong jumped 1.91 percent, Maxis stumbled 0.75 percent, Maybank collected 0.11 percent, MISC rose 0.14 percent, Petronas Chemicals plunged 2.22 percent, PPB Group dropped 0.52 percent, Press Metal eased 0.20 percent, Public Bank tumbled 1.20 percent, Sime Darby Plantations slumped 0.69 percent, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.39 percent, Tenaga Nasional lost 0.40 percent, Westports Holdings surged 2.52 percent and MRDIY, Petronas Gas, RHB Capital, Sime Darby, Dialog Group, Hong Leong Bank and Hong Leong Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street remains soft as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday, bounced back and forth across the unchanged line throughout the session before late weakness nudged them firmly into the red.

The Dow dropped 250.91 points or 0.75 percent to finish at 33,414.17, while the NASDAQ sank 128.13 points or 0.96 percent to end at 13,186.18 and the S&P 500 lost 36.60 points or 0.85 percent to close at 4,278.00.

The volatility on Wall Street came as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered highly anticipated remarks at an Economic Club of New York luncheon. Powell argued that inflation is “still too high” and warned additional monetary policy tightening may be needed.

Treasury yields moved higher following Powell’s remarks, extending the upward trend seen over the past few sessions and once again reaching 16-year highs.

In economic news, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims unexpectedly declined to a nearly nine-month low last week.

Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday after early losses, as Israel reportedly prepared to move into Gaza to fight against Hamas. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November added $1.05 or 1.2 percent at $89.37 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will see preliminary Q3 figures for GDP and September numbers for consumer prices later today. In Q2, GDP was up 2.9 percent on year; in August, overall inflation rose 0.2 percent on month and 2.0 percent on year.