Malaysia Stock Market May Find Traction On Thursday

The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, sinking almost 15 points or 1 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,460-point plateau although it’s due for support on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on bargain hunting and expectations for solid earnings news. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the plantations and a mixed picture from the financials and telecoms.

For the day, the index shed 4.77 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 1,462.55 after trading between 1,458.82 and 1,469.42.

Among the actives, AMMB Holdings jumped 1.44 percent, while Axiata retreated 1.34 percent, CIMB Group dropped 0.52 percent, Dialog Group added 0.87 percent, Digi.com tanked 2.33 percent, Genting rose 0.23 percent, IHH Healthcare gained 0.68 percent, INARI and Kuala Lumpur Kepong both slumped 1.12 percent, IOI Corporation declined 1.79 percent, Maybank and Public Bank both advanced 0.92 percent, Maxis sank 0.53 percent, Petronas Chemicals stumbled 1.22 percent, PPB Group climbed 1.16 percent, Press Metal plummeted 4.05 percent, RHB Capital skidded 1.05 percent, Sime Darby tumbled 1.83 percent, Sime Darby Plantations shed 0.46 percent, Telekom Malaysia plunged 3.77 percent, Tenaga Nasional eased 0.11 percent and MRDIY, Genting Malaysia, MISC and Nestle were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained solidly in the green throughout the session.

The Dow surged 526.74 points or 1.60 percent to finish at 33,376.48, while the NASDAQ spiked 162.26 points or 1.54 percent to end at 10,709.37 and the S&P 500 jumped 56.82 points or 1.49 percent to close at 3,878.44.

The rally on Wall Street came as stocks continued to benefit from bargain hunting and upbeat earnings news from companies like Nike (NKE) and FedEx (FDX).

In economic news, the Conference Board reported a significant improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in December. But the National Association of Realtors noted a continued slump in U.S. existing home sales in November.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday after data showed a larger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended higher by $2.06 at $78.29 a barrel.