Renewed Selling Pressure Tipped For Malaysia Shares

The Malaysia stock market rebounded on Thursday, one session after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 7 points or 0.5 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,420-point plateau although it may head south again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on continuing concerns over inflation, recession and interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished modestly higher following gains from the financial shares, glove makers and telecoms.

For the day, the index added 8.74 points or 0.62 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,420.06 after moving as low as 1,408.83. Volume was 2.006 billion shares worth 1.202 billion ringgit. There were 454 decliners and 332 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata plummeted 4.03 percent, while CIMB Group was up 0.20 percent, Dialog Group gathered 0.50 percent, Digi.com gained 0.59 percent, Genting perked 0.22 percent, Genting Malaysia advanced 0.71 percent, Hartalega Holdings skyrocketed 7.14 percent, IHH Healthcare increased 0.31 percent, INARI improved 0.42 percent, IOI Corporation rose 0.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong tumbled 1.14 percent, Maybank gained 0.12 percent, Maxis added 0.60 percent, MISC surged 3.21 percent, MRDIY shed 0.48 percent, Petronas Chemicals accelerated 1.90 percent, PPB Group jumped 1.28 percent, Press Metal soared 2.45 percent, Public Bank collected 0.69 percent, Sime Darby strengthened 0.93 percent, Telekom Malaysia climbed 0.96 percent, Tenaga Nasional spiked 2.02 percent, Top Glove rallied 0.99 percent and RHB Capital and Sime Darby Plantations were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed and flat as the major averages shook off a sharply lower open on Thursday, improving as the day progressed and ending little changed on opposite sides of the line.

The Dow shed 142.62 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 30,630.17, while the NASDAQ rose 3.60 points or 0.03 percent to close at 11,251.19 and the S&P 500 slid 11.40 points or 0.30 percent to end at 3,790.38.

The early weakness on Wall Street reflected disappointing earnings news from financial giants JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS), which both missed expectations.

Concerns about inflation and higher interest rates also continued to weigh on the markets after the Labor Department reported that U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in June.

Another report from the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly inched higher last week.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Thursday as concerns about the outlook for energy demand resurfaced amid fears of a possible recession due to rising interest rates. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended lower by $0.52 or 0.5 percent at $95.78 a barrel.