Malaysia Bourse May Extend Wednesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had collected just 5 points or 0.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,600-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with technology shares expected to fall under pressure. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, telecoms and plantation stocks. For the day, the index eased 3.89 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 1,599.66 after trading between 1,597.80 and 1,602.81. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail surged 3.41 percent, while AMMB Holdings sank 0.89 percent, Axiata dipped 0.38 percent, Celcomdigi skidded 1.08 percent, Gamuda declined 1.41 percent, IOI Corporation slipped 0.26 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and Maybank both rose 0.10 percent, Maxis tumbled 1.63 percent, MISC retreated 1.62 percent, MRDIY fell 0.63 percent, Petronas Chemicals strengthened 1.60 percent, Petronas Dagangan climbed 1.36 percent, PPB Group advanced 0.99 percent, Press Metal jumped 1.74 percent, Public Bank collected 0.47 percent, QL Resources stumbled 2.27 percent, RHB Bank slid 0.46 percent, Sime Darby plunged 2.73 percent, SD Guthrie shed 0.76 percent, Sunway slumped 1.09 percent, Tenaga Nasional dropped 0.90 percent, YTL Corporation lost 0.73 percent, YTL Power eased 0.24 percent and Telekom Malaysia, Nestle Malaysia, Petronas Gas, IHH Healthcare and CIMB Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday but gradually turned lower and finished solidly in the red.

The Dow shed 171.50 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 46,121.28, while the NASDAQ lost 75.62 points or 0.33 percent to close at 22,497.86 and the S&P 500 sank 18.95 points or 0.28 percent to end at 6,637.97.

The extended pullback on Wall Street may have reflected uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the artificial intelligence trade following Tuesday's weakness.

AI darling and market leader Nvidia (NVDA) slid by 0.9 percent after tumbling by 2.8 percent on Tuesday, while fellow AI player Oracle (ORCL) slumped by 1.7 percent.

Concerns about valuations may also have continued to weigh on the markets after comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggesting he believes stocks may be overvalued.

Crude oil prices soared on Wednesday due to the increasing likelihood of Russian oil exports facing heavy U.S. sanctions. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for November delivery was up $1.61 or 2.54 percent at $65.02 per barrel.