Malaysia Bourse Poised To Halt Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, slipping nearly 25 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just beneath the 1,480-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with technology and oil companies expected to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the power, finance and telecom sectors.

For the day, the index sank 12.03 points or 0.81 percent to finish at 1,479.18 after trading between 1,478.03 and 1,492.53.

Among the actives, Axiata retreated 1.18 percent, while CIMB Group surrendered 1.49 percent, Genting gained 0.65 percent, Genting Malaysia lost 0.38 percent, IHH Healthcare sank 0.67 percent, IOI Corporation rose 0.25 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong stumbled 0.89 percent, Maxis shed 0.53 percent, Maybank fell 0.33 percent, MISC added 0.41 percent, PPB Group advanced 0.68 percent, Press Metal skidded 0.82 percent, Public Bank declined 0.92 percent, QL Resources jumped 1.37 percent, RHB Capital eased 0.18 percent, Sime Darby tumbled 1.61 percent, Sime Darby Plantations tanked 1.79 percent, Telekom Malaysia slumped 0.86 percent, Tenaga Nasional dropped 0.77 percent, YTL Corporation plummeted 8.19 percent, YTL Power plunged 5.56 percent and MRDIY, Petronas Chemicals and Celcomdigi were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday but all ended up firmly in the green by the day's end.

The Dow advanced 201.94 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 37,468.61, while the NASDAQ rallied 200.03 points or 1.35 percent to close at 15,055.65 and the S&P 500 gained 41.73 points or 0.88 percent to end at 4,780.94.

The rebound on Wall Street came despite a continued increase by treasury yields, which moved higher after the Labor Department noted an unexpected weekly decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits.

Tech stocks helped lead the way higher on Wall Street, with shares of Apple (AAPL) jumping 3.3 percent after Bank of America upgraded its rating on the company's stock to Buy from Neutral.

A rally by semiconductor stocks also contributed to the surge by the NASDAQ as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiked by 3.4 percent. Networking, computer hardware and software stocks also showed notable moves to the upside.

Oil prices climbed higher Thursday, lifted by data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, and on higher forecasts for global demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February rallied $1.52 at $74.08 a barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will provide December data for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to rise 3.2 percent on year, up from 1.7 percent in November. Exports are seen lower by an annual 4.8 percent after slipping 5.9 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at MYR17.1 billion, up from MYR12.4 billion a month earlier.