Malaysia Bourse May Give Up Support At 1,600 Points

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up less than a point. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,600-point plateau and it's likely to extend its losses on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over relations between the United States and China, while tech shares are also likely to be weak. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and plantations, while the telecoms were mixed.

For the day, the index sank 14.14 points or 0.87 percent to finish at 1,602.69 after trading between 1,602.06 and 1,617.56. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail tumbled 1.82 percent, while AMMB Holdings shed 0.70 percent, Axiata plummeted 2.96 percent, Celcomdigi declined 1.35 percent, CIMB Group and YTL Power both plunged 2.04 percent, Gamuda skidded 1.16 percent, IHH Healthcare rose 0.24 percent, IOI Corporation dipped 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong was down 0.19 percent, Maxis gained 0.26 percent, Maybank slid 0.40 percent, MISC rallied 1.52 percent, Nestle Malaysia dropped 1.10 percent, Petronas Dagangan slumped 1.33 percent, Petronas Gas fell 0.53 percent, Press Metal tanked 1.45 percent, Public Bank retreated 1.41 percent, QL Resources jumped 1.86 percent, RHB Bank slipped 0.45 percent, Sime Darby sank 0.95 percent, SD Guthrie lost 0.57 percent, Sunway eased 0.18 percent, Telekom Malaysia added 0.56 percent, Tenaga Nasional contracted 1.21 percent, YTL Corporation stumbled 1.96 percent and Petronas Chemicals, PPB Group and MRDIY were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened flat but gradually turned lower as the day progressed and finished solidly under water.

The Dow stumbled 334.33 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 46,590.41, while the NASDAQ sank 213.27 points or 0.93 percent to end at 22,740.40 and the S&P 500 slumped 35.95 points or 0.53 percent to close at 6,699.40.

The slump by the tech-heavy NASDAQ was partly due to a steep drop by shares of Netflix (NFLX) and Texas Instruments (TXN) after disappointing earnings news.

The major averages fell to their lows of the session following reports that the Trump administration is considering a plan to curb an array of software-powered exports to China.

Crude oil prices surged on Wednesday on news that the proposed U.S.-Russia summit to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war has been shelved. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was up $1.28 or 2.24 percent at $58.52 per barrel.