Little Movement Seen For Malaysia Stock Market

The Malaysia stock market on Thursday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 20 points or 1.2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,515-point plateau and it’s likely to remain in that neighborhood again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed, with bargain hunting expected after heavy losses in the previous session. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

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

For the day, the index shed 10.29 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 1,514.95 after trading between 1,513.78 and 1,524.68. Volume was 3.298 billion shares worth 1.987 billion ringgit. There were 634 decliners and 334 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata added 0.77 percent, while CIMB Group eased 0.22 percent, Dialog Group retreated 1.52 percent, Digi.com dropped 0.70 percent, Genting surrendered 1.05 percent, Genting Malaysia tanked 2.13 percent, Hartalega Holdings tumbled 2.08 percent, IOI Corporation fell 0.53 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Nestle both rose 0.60 percent, Maybank lost 0.61 percent, Maxis gained 0.69 percent, MISC declined 1.44 percent, MRDIY spiked 2.90 percent, Petronas Chemicals was down 0.25 percent, Press Metal plunged 2.77 percent, Public Bank sank 0.76 percent, RHB Capital slid 0.38 percent, Sime Darby Plantations skidded 1.56 percent, Telekom Malaysia shed 0.68 percent, Tenaga Nasional was up 0.10 percent, Top Glove plummeted 4.07 percent and PPB Group, Hap Seng, Sime Darby and IHH Healthcare were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is uncertain as the major averages opened lower on Thursday but spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, eventually ending mixed and little changed.

The Dow lost 66.57 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 34,894.12, while the NASDAQ added 15.87 points or 0.11 percent to end at 14,541 and the S&P rose 5.5 points or 0.13 percent to close at 4,405.80.

The initial downside move on Wall Street came as traders continued to digest the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting, which note the increased possibility the central bank’s asset purchase program may be scaled back before the end of the year.

Potentially adding evidence to Fed officials’ view that the economy is close to the goal of maximum employment, the Labor Department released a report this morning showing initial jobless claims fell to a new pandemic-era low last week.

Bargain hunting helped to lift the markets as the session progressed.

Crude oil futures fell for a sixth straight session Thursday on worries about the outlook for energy demand after data showed a surprise build in gasoline inventories and continued spikes in coronavirus cases. West Texas Intermediate futures for September ended down $1.77 or 2.7 percent at $63.60 a barrel, a three-month low.