Malaysia Bourse Due For Support On Thursday

The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, sliding almost 40 points or 2.4 percent along the way. The Kuala Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,575-point plateau although it figures to stop the bleeding on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support from technology stocks likely offset by weakness from oil companies. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, glove makers, telecoms and plantations.

For the day, the index tumbled 35.68 points or 2.22 percent to finish at 1,573.51 after trading between 1,564.06 and 1,608.96. Volume was 8.493 billion shares worth 4.226 billion ringgit. There were 858 decliners and 304 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata tanked 3.69 percent, while CIMB Group and Tenaga Nasional both retreated 2.69 percent, Dialog Group declined 2.20 percent, Digi.com sank 2.15 percent, Genting lost 1.95 percent, Genting Malaysia fell 1.92 percent, Hartalega Holdings plummeted 4.59 percent, IHH Healthcare shed 2.03 percent, IOI Corporation slid 0.95 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong slipped 1.55 percent, Maybank dipped 1.79 percent, Maxis skidded 2.80 percent, MISC weakened 1.30 percent, Petronas Chemicals sank 1.23 percent, PPB Group shed 1.07 percent, Press Metal surrendered 2.17 percent, Public Bank slid 1.87 percent, RHB Capital eased 0.19 percent, Sime Darby dropped 2.04 percent, Sime Darby Plantations plunged 4.33 percent, Supermax tumbled 3.54 percent, Telekom Malaysia was down 0.33 percent and Top Glove cratered 5.44 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is conflicted as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, although the Dow fell under pressure as the day progressed and finished in the red.

The Dow dipped 85.41 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 32,981.55, while the NASDAQ surged 201.48 points or 1.54 percent to end at 13,246.87 and the S&P 500 rose 14.34 points or 0.36 percent to close at 3,972.89.

The rally by technology stocks reflected window dressing on the final day of the first quarter as the tech-heavy NASDAQ underperformed the Dow and the S&P. The NASDAQ rose 2.8 percent in Q1, while the Dow jumped 5.8 percent and the S&P spiked 7.8 percent.

A report from payroll processor ADP showing strong private sector job growth in March also generated some positive sentiment. ADP said private sector employment surged up by 517,000 jobs in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 176,000 jobs in February.

Crude oil prices moved sharply lower Wednesday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended down $1.39 or 2.3 percent at $59.16 a barrel.