Little Movement Seen For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Thursday ended the three-day losing streak in which it had slipped more than 20 points or 1.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,535-point plateau and it's expected to remain in that neighborhood again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with support expected from airline, steel and financial stocks. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The KLCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, weakness from the industrials and mixed performances from the telecoms and plantations.

For the day, the index added 7.28 points or 0.48 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,536.52 after trading as low as 1,523.25.

Among the actives, Axiata gained 0.43 percent, while Celcomdigi sank 0.52 percent, CIMB Group spiked 1.98 percent, Gamuda surged 2.62 percent, IHH Healthcare lost 0.30 percent, IOI Corporation tumbled 1.28 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong skidded 0.76 percent, Maybank gathered 0.31 percent, MISC jumped 1.32 percent, Nestle Malaysia added 0.51 percent, Petronas Chemicals stumbled 0.91 percent, Petronas Dagangan retreated 0.82 percent, Petronas Gas slumped 0.78 percent, Press Metal rose 0.39 percent, Public Bank climbed 0.94 percent, QL Resources shed 0.44 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.63 percent, Sime Darby dropped 0.60 percent, SD Guthrie and Hong Leong Bank both perked 0.21 percent, Sunway rallied 1.25 percent, Telekom Malaysia advanced 0.76 percent, Tenaga Nasional fell 0.29 percent, YTL Power soared 2.38 percent and 99 Speed Mart Retail, AMMB Holdings, PPB Group, Maxis, YTL Corporation and MRDIY were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened lower on Thursday but gradually moved higher over the course of the day to end with small gains.

The Dow climbed 192.34 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 44,650.64, while the NASDAQ rose 19.33 points or 0.09 percent to close at 20,630.66 and the S&P 500 added 17.20 points or 0.27 percent to end at 6,280.46.

The higher close on Wall Street came despite ongoing uncertainty about President Donald Trump's trade policies as he continues to threaten higher tariffs on various sectors and countries.

On the economic front, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged lower last week.

Crude oil prices fell on Thursday amid concerns about a supply increase for August by OPEC, the huge crude stock inventory in the United States and intensifying U.S. tariff pressures. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery tumbled $1.81 to settle at $66.57 per barrel.

Closer to home, Malaysia will release May numbers for industrial production later today; in April, production was up 2.7 percent on year.