Malaysia Bourse May Take Further Damage On Friday

The Malaysia stock market on Thursday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 25 points or 1.6 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,590-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower ahead of key U.S. jobs data later today, and the effect it may have on interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian market figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, entertainment stocks and glove makers.

For the day, the index shed 7.37 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 1,590.57 after trading between 1,586.61 and 1,599.72. Volume was 6.911 billion shares worth 3.602 billion ringgit. There were 545 decliners and 539 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata surged 2.37 percent, while CIMB Group declined 1.32 percent, Dialog Group tumbled 2.04 percent, Digi.com added 0.47 percent, Genting surrendered 1.17 percent, Genting Malaysia tanked 2.05 percent, Hartalega Holdings plummeted 2.69 percent, IHH Healthcare and RHB Capital both slid 0.55 percent, IOI Corporation climbed 0.99 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong was down 0.18 percent, Maybank dipped 0.49 percent, Maxis sank 0.87 percent, MISC eased 0.14 percent, Petronas Chemicals slipped 0.25 percent, PPB Group dropped 0.64 percent, Press Metal fell 0.57 percent, Sime Darby Plantations skidded 1.98 percent, Supermax plunged 2.20 percent, Tenaga Nasional rose 0.30 percent, Top Glove retreated 1.96 percent and Telekom Malaysia, Sime Darby and Public Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks opened firmly lower on Thursday, made back some ground as the day progressed but still ended solidly in the red.

The Dow shed 23.34 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 34,577.04, while the NASDAQ plunged 141.82 points or 1.03 percent to end at 13,614.51 and the S&P 500 fell 15.27 points 0.36 percent to close at 4,192.85.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as strong jobs data led to renewed concerns about the outlook for monetary policy when payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. spiked much more than expected in May.

Also, the Labor Department noted a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits last week. The data comes ahead of the Labor Department’s more closely watched report on the employment situation last month.

Crude oil futures settled roughly flat on Thursday after two straight days of strong gains as traders reacted to inventory data and weighed energy demand prospects. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down $0.02 at $68.81 a barrel.

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