Malaysia Stock Market May Be Stuck In Neutral On Thursday

The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday wrote a finish to the seven-day winning streak in which it had spiked more than 90 points or 6 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,585-point plateau although it may tick slightly lower again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat ahead of key U.S. employment data at the end of the week, while support from crude oil prices may nudge markets into the green. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and glove makers, while the plantations were mixed.

For the day, the index dropped 14.49 points or 0.90 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,586.89 after peaking at 1,604.98. Volume was 4.911 billion shares worth 3.391 billion ringgit. There were 562 decliners and 510 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata declined 1.69 percent, while CIMB Group slid 0.41 percent, Dialog Group added 0.38 percent, Digi.com and Hong Leong Bank both surrendered 1.36 percent, Genting rose 0.20 percent, Genting Malaysia jumped 2.02 percent, Hartalega Holdings plummeted 3.52 percent, IHH Healthcare fell 1.09 percent, IOI Corporation dropped 1.21 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong dipped 0.28 percent, Maybank shed 1.19 percent, Maxis tanked 2.35 percent, MISC tumbled 2.08 percent, MRDIY surged 6.34 percent, Petronas Chemicals was down 0.12 percent, PPB Group eased 0.11 percent, Press Metal spiked 2.22 percent, Public Bank plunged 2.39 percent, RHB Capital sank 1.25 percent, Sime Darby Plantations rallied 1.99 percent, Telekom Malaysia retreated 1.80 percent, Tenaga Nasional lost 1.15 percent, Top Glove skidded 2.00 percent and Sime Darby and Hap Seng were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, although the Dow quickly slipped into negative territory and finished in the red.

The Dow shed 48.20 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 35,312.53, while the NASDAQ gained 50.15 points or 0.33 percent to close at a record 15,309.38 and the S&P 500 rose 1.41 points or 0.03 percent to end at 4,524.09.

The lackluster close on Wall Street came as traders continued to look ahead to the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Economists currently expect employment to jump by 750,000 jobs in August after surging by 943,000 jobs in July. The unemployment rate is expected to dip to 5.2 percent from 5.4 percent.

In economic news, payroll processor ADP noted weaker than expected private sector job growth in August. And the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly grew at a slightly faster rate in August.

Crude oil futures settled marginally higher on Wednesday after data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up $0.09 or 0.1 percent at $68.59 a barrel.