Malaysia Bourse May Tick Higher On Thursday

The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 20 points or 1.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just shy of the 1,540-point plateau, although it may see mild upside again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on conflicting signals over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the telecoms and financials, while the plantations were mixed.

For the day, the index sank 10.98 points or 0.71 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,537.01 after peaking at 1,548.42.

Among the actives, Axiata and CIMB Group both declined 1.50 percent, while Celcomdigi shed 0.47 percent, Genting slid 0.21 percent, Genting Malaysia lost 0.37 percent, IHH Healthcare sank 0.66 percent, IOI Corporation fell 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.09 percent, Maxis skidded 1.16 percent, Maybank dropped 1.13 percent, MISC gained 0.26 percent, MRDIY tumbled 1.99 percent, PPB Group advanced 0.38 percent, Press Metal jumped 1.92 percent, Public Bank retreated 1.65 percent, QL Resources rallied 0.67 percent, RHB Capital and Tenaga Nasional both slumped 1.22 percent, Sime Darby added 0.37 percent, Sime Darby Plantations perked 0.23 percent, Telekom Malaysia stumbled 1.31 percent, YTL Power rose 0.25 percent and YTL Corporation and Petronas Chemicals were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened slightly lower on Wednesday, moved modestly into the green and then finished mixed.

The Dow dipped 43.10 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 39,127.14, while the NASDAQ rose 37.01 points or 0.23 percent to close at 16,277.46 and the S&P 500 perked 5.68 points or 0.11 percent to end at 5,211.49.

The early turnaround on Wall Street followed a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing an unexpected slowdown in the pace of U.S. service sector growth in March.

Worries the Federal Reserve may hold off on lowering interest rates also contributed to the early weakness on Wall Street after payroll processor ADP noted stronger than expected private sector job growth in the U.S. in March.

Meanwhile, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated during remarks at Stanford University that the central bank is not in a hurry to begin lowering interest rates.

Oil prices climbed higher Wednesday after OPEC ended its meeting without making any changes to its production policy. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $0.28 or 0.33 percent at $85.43 a barrel.

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