Malaysia Bourse May Erase Wednesday’s Gains

The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday ended the two-day slide in which it had dropped more than a dozen points or 0.8 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,600-point plateau although it’s expected to open sharply to the downside on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests major consolidation on the deteriorating outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the industrials, weakness from the financials and mixed performances from the plantations and telecoms.

For the day, the index perked 2.25 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 1,599.58 after trading between 1,594.75 and 1,602.38.

Among the actives, CIMB Group dipped 0.25 percent, while Genting, Maxis and QL Resources all advanced 0.84 percent, Genting Malaysia spiked 1.43 percent, IHH Healthcare gathered 0.42 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong dropped 0.74 percent, Maybank was down 0.20 percent, MISC eased 0.13 percent, MRDIY rose 0.56 percent, Nestle Malaysia rallied 1.23 percent, Petronas Chemicals gained 0.63 percent, PPB Group slumped 0.82 percent, Press Metal shed 0.62 percent, Public Bank sank 0.66 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.31 percent, Sime Darby fell 0.43 percent, SD Guthrie perked 0.20 percent, Sunway added 0.65 percent, Telekom Malaysia lost 0.45 percent, Tenaga Nasional soared 2.03 percent, YTL Corporation climbed 0.94 percent and YTL Power, Axiata, Celcomdigi and IOI Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened flat on Wednesday and stayed that way for most of the session before plummeting after the FOMC’s interest rate statement.

The Dow crashed 1,123.03 points or 2.58 percent to finish at 42,326.87, while the NASDAQ tanked 716.37 points or 3.56 percent to close at 19,392.69 and the S&P 500 sank 178.45 points or 2.95 percent to end at 5,872.16.

The sell-off on Wall Street came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to lower interest rates by a quarter-point but forecast fewer than previously estimated rate cuts next year.

With the rate cut almost universally expected, the focus of the announcement was on Fed officials’ latest economic projections. The latest projections suggest rates will be in a range of 3.75 to 4.0 percent by the end of 2025 compared to the range of 3.25 to 3.50 percent forecast in September.

Assuming the Fed lowers rates by a quarter-point, the projections point to just two rate cuts next year compared to the four previously forecast as Fed officials expect inflation to come in hotter than previously estimated in 2025.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, rebounding from recent losses after data showed a drop in crude inventories and an increase in gasoline stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January closed up $0.50 or 0.71 percent at $70.58 a barrel.