More Pain Predicted For Malaysia Stock Market

The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, sinking almost 30 points or 1.9 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,575-point plateau and it’s likely to extend its losses on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on geopolitical concerns over escalation of conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are tipped to follow a similar path.

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

For the day, the index shed 5.73 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 1,576.96 after trading between 1,567.19 and 1,581.05. Volume was 4.330 billion shares worth 3.164 billion ringgit. There were 779 decliners and 286 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata rallied 0.77 percent, while CIMB Group retreated 1.26 percent, Dialog Group climbed 0.74 percent, Digi.com added 0.50 percent, Genting tanked 1.49 percent, Genting Malaysia declined 1.38 percent, Hartalega Holdings plummeted 2.30 percent, IHH Healthcare surrendered 1.41 percent, IOI Corporation lost 0.45 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong stumbled 0.79 percent, Maybank skidded 0.91 percent, Maxis tumbled 1.44 percent, MISC surged 2.13 percent, MRDIY eased 0.27 percent, Petronas Chemicals gained 0.22 percent, Press Metal soared 2.11 percent, Public Bank sank 0.69 percent, RHB Capital slumped 0.70 percent, Sime Darby jumped 0.87 percent, Sime Darby Plantations spiked 1.53 percent, Telekom Malaysia fell 0.37 percent, Tenaga Nasional slid 0.33 percent, Top Glove plunged 1.94 percent and INARI and PPB Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests consolidation as the major averages opened slightly lower on Tuesday but saw losses accelerate as the day progressed, ending firmly in the red.

The Dow plunged 482.57 points or 1.42 percent to finish at 33,596.61, while the NASDAQ tumbled 166.55 points or 1.23 percent to end at 13,381.52 and the S&P 500 dropped 44.11 points or 1.01 percent to close at 4,304.76.

The weakness on Wall Street came after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized two Ukrainian separatist regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as sovereign states and sent troops into those territories as “peacekeepers.”

Describing the latest actions by Russia as the beginning of an invasion of Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden announced the first tranche of U.S. sanctions on two large Russian financial institutions, VEB and Russia’s military bank, and Russia’s sovereign debt, as well as Russian elites and their family members.

The U.K. also announced a first tranche of sanctions on Russia, targeting five Russian banks and three “very high net worth” individuals.

Oil prices moved up sharply Tuesday on concerns over supplies following Russia’s aggressive move into Ukraine. It is feared that a full-blown conflict in Ukraine could cause major disruption to crude supplies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $1.70 or 1.9 percent at $91.91 a barrel.