Malaysia Stock Market Poised To Halt Losing Streak

The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, sinking more than 20 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,550-point plateau although it’s likely to stop the bleeding on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive thanks to optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the glove makers and mixed performances from the financials, plantations and telecoms.

For the day, the index dipped 3.51 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 1,549.90 after trading between 1,546.29 and 1,555.54. Volume was 2.489 billion shares worth 1.899 billion ringgit. There were 481 decliners and 423 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata skidded 0.62 percent, while CIMB Group shed 0.38 percent, Dialog Group plunged 2.48 percent, Digi.com stumbled 0.87 percent, Genting dropped 0.57 percent, Hartalega Holdings tanked 1.99 percent, IHH Healthcare advanced 0.62 percent, INARI surged 4.41 percent, IOI Corporation added 0.23 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong dipped 0.15 percent, Maybank collected 0.56 percent, MISC rose 0.14 percent, MRDIY fell 0.31 percent, Petronas Chemicals retreated 0.70 percent, PPB Group tumbled 1.20 percent, Press Metal perked 0.18 percent, Public Bank sank 0.43 percent, RHB Capital declined 0.99 percent, Sime Darby spiked 1.37 percent, Sime Darby Plantations slumped 0.61 percent, Tenaga Nasional lost 0.33 percent, Top Glove plummeted 8.03 percent and Petronas Gas, Maxis, Telekom Malaysia and Genting Malaysia were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages shook off early weakness on Thursday and picked up steam as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 435.05 points or 1.33 percent to finish at 33,248.28, while the NASDAQ spiked 322.44 points or 2.69 percent to end at 12,316.90 and the S&P 500 gained75.59 points or 1.84 percent to close at 4,176.82.

The rally on the day more than offset the pullback seen over the two previous sessions, with the major averages reaching their best closing levels in almost a month.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street may partly have reflected optimism that the Federal Reserve could alter its plans to aggressively raise interest rates in the light of some weak economic data.

Later today, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly employment report, which includes both public and private sector jobs.

Crude oil moved notably higher on Thursday after the Energy Information Administration released a report showing a much bigger than expected weekly decrease in U.S. crude oil inventories last week. Crude for July delivery jumped $1.61 or 1.4 percent to $116.87 a barrel.