Little Movement Seen For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the six-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 70 points or 5.1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just above the 1,450-point plateau and it's expected to be rangebound again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with tech shares expected to weigh heavily. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished barely lower on Thursday following losses from the plantations, support from the glove makers and telecoms and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index the index eased 0.89 points of 0.06 percent to finish at 1,454.09 after trading between 1,452.28 and 1,459.86. Volume was 2.531 billion shares worth 1.870 billion ringgit. There were 505 gainers and 325 decliners.

Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 1.78 percent, while CIMB Group rallied 0.90 percent, Dialog Group surged 5.24 percent, Genting, Petronas Chemicals and Maybank all dipped 0.23 percent, Genting Malaysia jumped 0.75 percent, Hartalega Holdings advanced 0.48 percent, IHH Healthcare dropped 0.50 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong stumbled 0.98 percent, Maxis soared 2.98 percent, PPB Group fell 0.24 percent, Public Bank and Sime Darby both sank 0.45 percent, RHB Capital skidded 0.53 percent, Sime Darby Plantations declined 1.33 percent, Tenaga Nasional slumped 0.96 percent, Top Glove spiked 2.65 percent and MISC, MRDIY, Telekom Malaysia, INARI, IOI Corporation, Press Metal and Digi.com were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday. The NASDAQ remained lower throughout the session, while the Dow was higher the whole day and the S&P bounced back and forth across the unchanged line, finally finishing in the red.

The Dow jumped 194.17 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 32,033.28, while the NASDAQ tumbled 178.32 points or 1.63 percent to end at 10,792.67 and the S&P 500 fell 23.30 points or 0.61 percent to close at 3,807.30.

The continued upward move by the Dow reflected positive reaction to earnings news from the likes of Caterpillar (CAT), Honeywell (HON), McDonald's (MCD) and Merck (MRK).

The index also benefited from a positive reaction to a report from the Commerce Department showing U.S. economic activity rebounded by slightly more than expected in the third quarter following two straight quarters of contraction.

Meanwhile, a steep drop by Meta Platforms (META) weighed on the tech-heavy NASDAQ, with the Facebook parent plunging by 24.5 percent after the company reported weaker than expected Q3 earnings and disappointing guidance.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session amid optimism about demand growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December were up $1.17 or 1.3 percent at $89.08 a barrel.