Malaysia Stock Market May Extend Wednesday’s Losses

The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday ended the seven-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 25 points or 1.6 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,465-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, largely due to expectations of profit taking following recent gains. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the plantations, industrials and telecoms.

For the day, the index eased 1.11 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 1,464.56 after trading between 1,464.09 and 1,470.79.

Among the actives, Axiata soared 1.24 percent, while CIMB Group stumbled 1.01 percent, Genting added 0.65 percent, Genting Malaysia gained 0.37 percent, IHH Healthcare rose 0.33 percent, IOI Corporation skidded 0.76 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong rallied 0.84 percent, Maxis was up 0.78 percent, Maybank fell 0.11 percent, Petronas Chemicals surged 1.27 percent, PPB Group perked 0.27 percent, Press Metal slumped 0.82 percent, Public Bank shed 0.46 percent, QL Resources was up 0.17 percent, RHB Capital dropped 0.54 percent, Sime Darby climbed 0.82 percent, Sime Darby Plantations lost 0.22 percent, Telekom Malaysia spiked 1.10 percent, YTL Corporation sank 0.52 percent, YTL Power advanced 0.80 percent and MISC, MRDIY, Celcomdigi and Tenaga Nasional were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages hugged the line for most of Wednesday’s session but turned sharply lower heading into the close.

The Dow plunged 475.92 points or 1.27 percent to finish at 37,082.00, while the NASDAQ tumbled 225.28 points or 1.50 percent to close at 14,777.94 and the S&P 500 slumped 70.02 points or 1.47 percent to end at 4,698.36.

The late-day sell-off on Wall Street was largely attributed to profit taking, with traders cashing in on the strong upward move seen in recent sessions.

A steep drop by shares of FedEx (FDX) also weighed on the markets, with the delivery giant plunging by 12.1 percent after the company reported weaker than expected fiscal Q2 results and lowered its full-year revenue guidance.

In economic news, the Conference Board noted a much bigger than expected improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in December, while the National Association of Realtors showed an unexpected rebound in U.S. existing home sales last month.

Oil prices climbed higher Wednesday on concerns about trade disruptions in the Middle East after attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $0.28 or 0.4 percent at $74.22 a barrel.