Malaysia Stock Market Likely Rangebound On Thursday

The Malaysia stock market bounced higher again on Wednesday, one day after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost a dozen points or 0.9 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,385-point plateau and it’s likely to remain in that neighborhood again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged but said more rate hikes were likely before the end of the year. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the telecoms, weakness from the plantations and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index rose 4.81 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 1,385.42 after trading between 1,381.49 and 1,386.79.

Among the actives, Axiata soared 3.05 percent, while Celcomdigi added 0.47 percent, Dialog Group spiked 2.86 percent, Genting strengthened 0.96 percent, Genting Malaysia gained 0.39 percent, IHH Healthcare advanced 0.52 percent, Inari surged 3.70 percent, IOI Corporation lost 0.27 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong slumped 1.37 percent, Maybank and Hong Leong Financial both fell 0.23 percent, MISC gathered 0.28 percent, Petronas Chemicals sank 0.31 percent, Press Metal jumped 1.88 percent, Public Bank collected 0.26 percent, RHB Capital rose 0.38 percent, Sime Darby rallied 1.98 percent, Tenaga Nasional climbed 0.66 percent and Sime Darby Plantations, Telekom Malaysia, MRDIY, PPB Group, Maxis and CIMB Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened mixed, tumbled after the Fed’s policy statement but then rebounded to finish on opposite sides of the line.

The Dow slumped 232.79 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 33,979.33, while the NASDAQ added 53.16 points or 0.39 percent to close at 13,626.48 and the S&P 500 rose 3.58 points or 0.08 percent to end at 4,372.59.

The late-day volatility came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to pause its interest rate increases following 10 consecutive rate hikes but also forecast additional increases later this year.

However, the central bank’s latest projections suggest the Fed plans to resume raising rates later this year, forecasting a rate of 5.6 percent by the end of 2023.

The forecast for additional rate hikes this year comes as the Fed raised its forecast for annual core consumer price growth to 3.9 percent from 3.6 percent.

Crude oil prices pared early gains and drifted lower Wednesday after data showed a notable increase in U.S. crude inventories last week, while a stronger greenback also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July sank $1.15 or 1.7 percent at $68.27 a barrel.

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