The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, slipping more than 8 points or 0.5 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,580-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic following encouraging inflation data from the United States. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The KLCI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and glove makers, while the entertainment stocks were up and the plantations were mixed.
For the day, the index dipped 1.58 points or 0.10 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,579.90 after peaking at 1,586.28. Volume was 4.915 billion shares worth 2.737 billion ringgit. There were 520 gainers and 436 decliners.
Among the actives, Axiata skidded 0.78 percent, while CIMB Group retreated 0.65 percent, Dialog Group gained 0.68 percent, Digi.com added 0.71 percent, Genting gathered 0.19 percent, Genting Malaysia rose 0.67 percent, Hartalega Holdings dipped 0.12 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong was up 0.18 percent, Maybank shed 0.24 percent, Maxis tanked 0.88 percent, MISC advanced 0.73 percent, Petronas Chemicals improved 0.50 percent, PPB Group sank 0.43 percent, Press Metal perked 0.59 percent, RHB Capital and Hap Seng both dropped 0.37 percent, Sime Darby climbed 0.89 percent, Sime Darby Plantations declined 0.47 percent, Supermax plummeted 1.29 percent, Top Glove tumbled 0.83 percent and Public Bank, IHH Healthcare, Telekom Malaysia, Tenaga Nasional, IOI Corporation and Hong Leong Bank were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks opened higher on Thursday, tumbled shortly thereafter but rebounded to end in the green.
The Dow added 19.10 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 34,466.24, while the NASDAQ jumped 108.58 points or 0.78 percent to end at 14,020.33 and the SYP 500 rose 19.63 points or 0.47 percent to close at 4,239.18.
The higher close on Wall Street followed the release of a highly anticipated Labor Department report showing a bigger than expected increase in consumer prices in May.
Also, the Labor Department reported another modest decrease in first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week.
Crude oil futures moved higher on Thursday amid optimism energy demand will pick up gradually following an Energy Information Administration (EIA) report that showed a big drop in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended up by $0.33 or 0.5 percent at $70.29 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Malaysia Bourse Tipped To Snap Losing Streak
2021-06-10 23:30:36
